When Winter Comes
by Kittykatkait12
Summary: My life so far hasn't been a very good one. Who would have guessed that so much could change in just a few weeks. I never could have dreamed that my powers could be used for good, but now I'm on a team because of them. I never dreamed I would have a family. But now I have both and I couldn't ask for more. I just hope it lasts, because normally these things don't.
1. Chapter 1

Loud voices and screaming children were the everyday noises here at the orphanage. What could you expect though in Gotham City. There were too many kids and not enough people willing to adopt. I was one of the "phasers". Pretty much saying that I would never be adopted, and when I turned 18 I would be phased out. My whole life has been spent in orphanages. For the last 15 years I've been hopping from city to city to different ones. I was put up for adoption when I was born. My mother didn't want to have a child, let alone raise one. I found out more about her as I grew up and I'm now very thankful she gave me up. She did some really bad stuff, and she's still doing it. I spent my first 5 years at the orphanage in Central City. It was pretty nice there. The older kids looked out for me since I was so small and quiet. I liked it there, all the way up until my 5th birthday. That's when I got my powers. They were genetic from what one of the workers said. I accidentally froze a table one day when I was playing with another little girl. From that day on no one talked to me. I would see them shy away from me when I came near them. I could hear them mumble words like freak and monster. They all avoided me. I was only there for another month after the incident. They decided to transfer me to the orphanage in Star City. I guess they thought that maybe someone there might be willing to adopt a little girl with powers. Or maybe they just wanted to get rid of me and not tarnish the orphanage's reputation. I stayed there until I was 10. Most people still stayed away from me. I didn't know if it was because they heard what I could do, or if it was because of how I looked. Ever since I got my powers my hair color started changing. It used to be light brown, but now it was platinum blonde. My eyes used to be brown too, but they were icy blue now. My skin was pale, but still looked "normal". I think most people were afraid of my eyes. They knew that a person's eyes weren't supposed to be that color. The years that I was there I didn't have very many incidents. I would sometimes sneak out of the building and go to a nearby alley. That's where I would practice with my powers. I knew even at a young age that if I didn't get a handle on my powers that they could be a problem one day. Eventually I was deemed unadoptable and they sent me to the one orphanage you send all kids who can't be adopted. Gotham City orphanage. It was run down and overcrowded. I had to share a room with about six other girls, two of which were only 7. They all knew I was different, but they never knew how exactly. I keep quiet and come and go as I please. I still practice my powers in secret though. Life here isn't too great, but I suppose it's still better than nothing. It's still better than living on the streets.

Chapter 1: Striking Out

Today was going like any other day. I woke up, did some chores then walked around the building. I could hear some people talking about how a bunch of superheroes were bringing their sidekicks to the Hall of Justice. I went outside to the front of the building and saw a few of the younger kids playing on the sidewalk before I began to walk passed them down the street. I've found that I get fewer strange looks when I wear a hoodie and dark clothes, so most of the time I just wear a black hoodie and black jeans. My hood was always pulled up and my hair tucked in as much as possible. As I continued down the streets the symphony of Gotham met my ears. Police sirens, car horns and yelling. How could anyone actually like living in this city. It was so loud. I had no destination in mind as I wandered the streets. I was mostly just walking for the sake of getting away from the orphanage. I went to the park, a couple stores, and even saw a movie. I always managed to scrounge up a few bucks from doing chores every day. When the movie let out it was already dark out. I knew that the streets came alive with criminals at night. Mentally I began preparing myself for anything on my walk back. It was a quick walk, I was only about 5 minutes away when a scream reached my ears. It was coming from an alleyway not too far away.

"Someone help!" A woman cries out from the dark as I could hear some men laughing.

I bolted to the alley and saw three men pinning a woman to the wall. It was clear what they were trying to do and I wasn't about to let them get away with it.

"Get away from her!" I yelled out in my most intimidating voice, which in hindsight was not as intimidating as I had hoped.

The men looked up at me and their smile's grew.

"And what if we don't want to. What are you gonna do about it pipsqueak?" The man closest to the woman began to laugh while the other two moved toward me. Now that they were closer I could see how much bigger they were than me. They were almost twice my size!

One of them moved to grab my arm and I quickly gave him a punch dead in the face. He fell backwards holding his face and yelling in pain.

"You're gonna regret that kid." The other one said while grabbing my arm and tossing me into the wall. I let out a cough as the wind was knocked out of me before I looked back at the man approaching me again. The one I had already punched was getting back up with a bloody nose and anger in his eyes.

"You've got some balls kid. I'll give you that." The man was wiping blood away as he came closer. He threw a punch, but I sidestepped causing him to punch the concrete wall. He cried out in agony at his now broken hand before grabbing my shoulder and slamming me back into the wall. I felt pain flooding my arm as he shoved me multiple times into the wall. I felt a slight pop and then a second one from my shoulder going in and out of its socket. I could still faintly hear the woman not too far away crying with the man still pinning her to the wall. He seemed to be enjoying the show too much to continue what he was doing. I was getting increasingly irritated and when I had a moment between being shoved into the wall I brought my leg up and kicked the guy in the stomach. He doubled over in pain and coughed, leaving the other two men to take a step back.

"I'm tired of playing." I said while the two stared at me. A chill filled the air and the men began to look around in a panic. A white mist was filling the alleyway and a brittle cold gust of air caused the men to gasp. I moved toward the closest man and gently tapped his shoulder, a thin layer of ice beginning to spread from where I touched him. His eyes grew wide and he screamed trying to run away from me. He got a few steps away before the ice encased his body all the way up to his neck. The other man who had been pinning the woman to the wall was stumbling away trying to run out of the alleyway before I could get him. With a quick wave of my hand ice shards shot toward him and pinned his clothes to the concrete wall. The man who I had kicked managed to get out of the alleyway before I could do anything. The mist soon disappeared and the air returned to normal as I walked over to the woman who was in a heap crying on the ground. I knelt down next to her hoping I hadn't scared her too much.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. Are you alright?" I used a quiet and calm voice as she looked up at me. She nodded with fear still in her eyes, but also relief. "Would you like me to walk you home?" I helped her to her feet and she seemed to be in shock. She was just staring at me with wide eyes. I shifted nervously waiting for an answer before she spoke with her quivering voice. "Thank you" I wasn't expecting that honestly. I was expecting her to call me a monster and run away. I stared at her a small smile just barely visible from under my hood.

"You're welcome. I couldn't just stand by while they hurt you." The woman wiped away some of her mascara that had run down her face.

"Most people would have just ran off. Are...are you a superhero?" The question sounded very foreign to me. A hero? Someone like me?

"No. Just someone who wants to help." The woman finally showed a small smile.

"Well you're my hero." I could feel my heartstrings being pulled and the tears were beginning to pool in the corner of my eyes.

"You're the first person to ever say anything like that to me. Thank you." My voice was shaky and quivering as I spoke. It was so obvious I was crying. "Everyone normally calls me a monster." I let out a choked laugh before rubbing at my eyes under my hood.

"You are what you choose to be. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Just because you're different doesn't make you a monster. It makes you unique. Don't be afraid to be who you really are." This woman's words spoke deeply to me. She was the first person to see me as more than a monster. More than a freak. She truly saw me as a hero. "I think I should be fine the rest of the way hun. Thank you again." The woman left the alley and a feeling of ease came over me. Her words gave me hope that maybe I That maybe I could become something so much better than what everyone thought. I ran back to the orphanage in a joyful run, happy to feel like my life had a new purpose.

The next few months I went out at night, helping people who were mugged or cornered. I kept away from the big stuff just because I knew Batman would have it covered. One night though, I stumbled across a hunch of men loading weapons into a large truck. I could see crated and crates of the stuff being rolled into the huge semi. Looking around I could tell I had found my way to the docks at some point. With weapon caches this huge and the sheer amount of man power around I could only think of one person with that kind power. The Penguin. This was big, no HUGE! 'I shouldn't be here.' I thought while ducking behind some crates so I couldn't be seen. I could hear the men talking amongst themselves.

"Do you think the Bat will show up?"

"Doubt it. Penguin said he has some of Two-Faces goons setting something up on the other side of town. We should be in the clear!" The two began laughing before electing back to work. Now that I knew I couldn't just sit here and do nothing. Who knows what kind of damage the Penguin could do with all these weapons. I had to come up with a plan quickly. I could tell they were about half way through the warehouse by the time I got there. 'I need to buy more time.' I looked around the open area and stared at the truck. Miraculously enough, the gas tank was on my side of the truck where no one would be able to spot me. I watched the men carefully and made a break for it when I had my chance. Making it to the gas tank was easy enough, now I just had to pry it open. With a little effort I managed to get it open. I placed my hand over the hole and blasted ice into the gas tank. 'This will get me some more time...but just in case.' My thoughts wandered as I made my way to the front of the truck. I slid my hand against the metal causing ice to spread on the side and under the truck to the engine. I made a break for the crates once again and found cover Miraculously without being noticed. 'Now I have time to take care of what's in the warehouse.' I made my way quietly inside and went up to every crate I came near. I would poke my hand in and blast the guns with ice until I could hear them cracking and breaking. I got through maybe a quarter of the crates before I heard a lot of movement and yelling outside.

"It's the Bat!" I could hear them yell and immediately there was gun fire following. The yelling and shots ended soon as I found a hiding place behind a crate on the second floor. 'Crap.' I thought while listening carefully. I could hear Batman talking to someone, I could only assume it would be Robin. I could faintly make out what he was saying. I think he said something about checking the warehouse. 'Double crap.' I took a quick glance around and spotted a window not too far down from where I was. I slowly and quietly began to move toward it until I heard Batman's voice grow louder.

"It looks like someone already beat us here." He was obviously looking in the crates at all the ice. I couldn't move. The sheer level of fear I was feeling was making me freeze in place.

"Robin, run a thermal scan of the warehouse." I panicked and found myself lowering my body temperature to try and match the air around me. I could hear Robin walking around down below before he stopped.

"I'm not picking up on any hot spots, but there's a cold spot on the second floor behind some crates. 'I'm dead.' I panicked again and moved to the window, not caring if I made noise anymore. As I climbed out the window I remembered I was on the second floor. Looking around I couldn't see anything to cushion my fall. 'I'll deal with it later.' As soon as I let go and jumped a hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. It was a large hand with a very firm grip. I felt a lump growing in my throat as Batman pulled me back inside and set me in the ground. The two stared down at my hooded head in silence before Batman spoke. "Talk." He said in a demanding voice. My hands Were visibly shaking in fear as I remained silent. I could feel him glaring at the top of my head before he spoke again. "Tell me why you're here." I still couldn't bring myself to speak as Batman knelt in front of me. Holding out one of the frozen weapons he kept his same stern voice. "Did you do this?" I paused in contemplation finally displacing my fear and nodding slightly. "Why?" He questioned while standing back up. I finally found my voice again and spoke quietly. "I just wanted to help." My voice was barely audible over the background noise of the city. Batman seemed to be thinking for a moment before pulling me to my feet. He handed me a grenade and I stared at it puzzled. "Freeze it." Was all he said. I had never frozen a grenade before, but I understood kind of how it worked. I clasped both hands around it and ice slithered into the pin and froze the mechanism that caused the explosion. Batman took the grenade back and pulled the pin, tossing it over his shoulder and waiting a moment. There was no explosion. Was Batman testing me? "What's your name?" That was a strange question for Batman to ask. I was quiet for a moment, unsure of whether to truly answer him or not. "Eira." Batman nodded before turning and beginning to walk away. Robin seemed at a loss for words while looking back and forth between me and Batman. He quickly took off after him leaving me alone there. 'Am I off the hook?' I questioned myself before beginning to leave the warehouse. It was almost 6 am and I knew the people from the orphanage would not be too happy finding out I was out all night. It took me a out 15 minutes to make it home and quietly sneak into bed. I kept wondering what was going to happen now. Was Batman letting me keep doing this? Why did he just leave? So many unanswered questions. As I kept wondering if slowly felt sleep tugging at my eyelids before I drifted off into the black abyss of my dreams.


	2. Chapter 2: A New Start

**_Note from author: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoy the story so far. I'm still trying to get a handle on how often I should update this. I was thinking about once a week, but I'm not sure. Please leave any suggestions you may have and I'm also looking for some ideas on some filler chapters. If you have an idea, just leave a comment to let me know._**

Chapter 2: A New Start

The next few nights that followed I went about my usual business. Stopping the usual bad guys from stealing and such. No more of the Penguin's goons showed up at the docks. Honestly, things were kind of calm. I knew Batman was busting some of the big stuff because I would see it on the news. In all honesty I was hoping I would come across something big again. After it was all said and done I really felt like I made a difference. Tonight it was a rainy night. There was a fog that filled the streets that gave an eerie aura to the already creepy streets. I could barely see 20 feet in front of me before I heard very faint voices. They were mere whispers at first, then they slowly grew into murmurs and normal talking as I grew closer. I could see two men talking in front of the bank entrance about 20 feet away. Thankfully neither one of them noticed me. They were talking about the security system inside. It was well passed closing, so it was obvious they were planning on robbing it. As the two separated I immediately recognized one of them. Two-Face. I really had a knack for stumbling upon high profile bad guys at work. I also knew that Two-Face was no push over. He had the muscle to overpower me in two seconds. If I was going to do anything I needed to be smart about it. I scanned the side of the bank for anything I could use to my advantage. I spotted a fire escape on the building next door which was surprisingly close to the bank's second floor windows. I heard the alarm at the front doors trip as I began to climb the fire escape. I slipped in the window quietly just as they disabled the alarm. "Round up as much as you can. We only have a few minutes before the Bat gets here." Two-Face was prepared. He had everything timed for the perfect job. I could see the men preparing to blow the safe when I had an idea. I touched my hand to the floor and watched as an almost invisible layer of ice crawled down the wall and onto the floor in front of the safe. As the men approached they one by one slipped. It was hard to stiffle my laughter watching them attempt to get up and keep falling. After a brief moment of watching I faintly heard movement on the same floor as me. My heart began to pound in my ears as I shifted to hide behind a desk. I noticed a shadow drop from the ceiling and I heard a childish cackle echo through the room.

"I see you guys are getting "cold feet?" I covered my face at Robin's horrible joke before I sliding my way out from behind the desk. I still stayed out of sight but now Robin knew where I was.

"The Bat couldn't be bothered to come himself huh? Such a pity." Two-Face spoke as if he was slightly disappointed. The gunfire soon started as Robin ducked down and made his way over to me. "Hey Eira, think you could do me a favor and ice those guns for me while I take care of the big guy?" I nodded, my hood shifting slightly before I moved to get a better view of how many guns I was dealing with. I did a quick count and spotted six guns. I took a deep breath and moved quickly out from my cover. With a wave of my hand icicles shot at the guns and latched on, spreading slowly across the gun. The goons immediately dropped them staring in disbelief at what they were watching. While they were distracted Robin swooped in and knocked out every one. All that was left was Two-Face. I scanned the room but it looked like he had disappeared. After a brief moment I felt something tug on the back of my hoodie, pulling me off balance and causing my hood to fall.

"What's do we have here? A new little friend of Batman's?" I squirmed in his grasp while my hair fell into my face. I suddenly felt my feet leave the ground and I was dangling over the edge of the second floor. I continued to squirm while Robin watched from the floor below. I squirmed more and screamed for him to let me go but all I heard was a chuckle.

"How about we play a game of chance?" He asked while I heard him ruffling through his pocket. "I'm going to flip this coin. If it's heads, I drop you. Tails, I put you Safely back on the floor." I heard him flip it and made quick eye contact with Robin. He seemed to read my mind as I brought my hand up and grabbed Two-Face's wrist. Ice exploded from my hand and encased his whole arm as I wiggled out of my hoodie and fell. Robin was quick to slide in and catch me though. Two-Face was yelling as I was put down and Robin took out some handcuffs. With a snap of my fingers the ice shattered setting his arm free right as Robin knocked him out and handcuffed him to a nearby railing. I grabbed my hoodie as it fluttered down to the ground and quickly pulled it back on. The hood went up almost immediately.

"Great work. I think we make a pretty good team." Robin said while walking up next to me. "Yeah, I think we do. We'll have to do this again sometime." Robin smiled as the faint sound of sirens echoed in the air.

"We should probably get out of here." I said before going back up the second floor and climbing out the window. Robin was close behind me and we watched as the cops put Two-Face into a police car.

"So what do you think of this hero thing?" Robin questioned while staring at the side of my hooded head.

"I like it. I feel like I'm actually making a difference." I could see Robin smiling at me before his expression changed.

"So...you're blonde?" I shook my head at the awkward way the question was approached. A light chuckle escaped my lips as a turned to face him.

"Yeah. I used to have brown hair, but when I got my powers it turned blonde." Robin nodded and his smile came back.

"That's pretty cool. When did you get your powers?"

"When I turned 5. Gotta say it was quite a shock for me. Not so much for the workers though."

Robin's face help a slight amount of confusion before he asked another question. "What's do you mean workers?" I shifted uncomfortably and made my way to the ladder for the fire escape.

"Just forget I said anything." I said quickly while climbing down and taking off down the street toward the orphanage. I didn't like to share most of my past and that little slip up is going to make Robin try to figure it out. As I entered the orphanage I felt like I was being watched. I knew Robin would probably follow me but I had hoped he would respect my decision not to tell anyone.

It was another couple days before I saw any action. It seemed like crime was avoiding the area around the orphanage, which was very surprising. I had gone out tonight in hopes of helping someone and there was nothing going on. I made my way to the park nearby and took a seat on a bench and just stared up at the night sky. I could faintly hear movement nearby and I stiffened. As the movement came closer I stood up and spun around, ready for a fight. To my surprise Batman was standing there. "Batman? What are you doing here?"

"I came to offer you something. An opportunity to join a team of young heroes to undergo covert missions for the Justice league."

I stared at Batman, awestruck at what he was offering me. Was he really saying what I think?

"You want me to join a team? Really?"

Batman nodded before continuing.

"Your desire to do good and help others is what swayed my mind. Robin has worked with you personally and voucher for your skill and quick thinking. He will also be part of the team."

I was now super excited, but something suddenly hit me. I was in the system as an orphan. It wasn't as simple as just leaving. Batman must have been able to sense my hesitation because he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Arrangements have already been made with your current living situation. You are now out of the system and legally I will be your adoptive father."

My eyes grew wide at what Batman had said. How did he know I was an orphan? But who cares! He ADOPTED me! I could feel tears pulling at the corner of my eyes and slowly falling down my cheeks. I found myself hugging Batman as he gently patted my back. "T-Thank you s-so much!" I managed to get out through my sobs of joy. It took me a few minutes before I was calm enough for Batman to talk again.

"I will have someone stop by in an hour to pick you up. Head back and collect all your things."

I could hardly contain the smile that was on my face. My cheeks were starting to hurt. I nodded and took off at a run back to the orphanage. As I ran into my room and starting flinging things into my bags I heard some of the other girls starting to wake up. I heard one mumble something about what I was doing.

"I got adopted!" I couldn't contain my sheer amount of joy as I finished packing what little things I had and took off back outside. In front of the building was a black limo with an older man standing regally next to it.

"Miss Eira, I am here to take you home."

I was stunned at what I was seeing. Batman really had enough money to afford a limo and a driver? I climbed into the back of the limo while hearing someone of the kids gawking at what they were seeing. After a brief moment I could hear the man get in and felt the limo start moving.

"So what's your name?" I wanted to at least try to make a good first impression.

"My name is Alfred miss. Master Bruce asked me to pick you up and bring you to your new home at Wayne manor. After we arrive I will show you to your room. He has asked you remain there until he returns from his evening out."

Wait...Bruce? As in Bruce Wayne?! Batman was Bruce Wayne! Holy cow! I can't believe this was actually happening. This kind of stuff only happens in books.

"Okay. Thank you for picking me up Alfred."

"You are quite welcome miss."

He seemed so nice. I hope we would get along. After a brief drive I could see the mansion coming into view. It was HUGE! This was really my new home? I subconsciously started pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. As the limo came to a stop Alfred walked around and opened the door for me, leading me inside. He insisted I take off my hoodie while I was in the house. I begrudgingly removed it and handed it to him. He placed it in a nearby closet and directed me to follow him. As we walked upstairs I took note of all the beautiful artwork and sculptures. This place was amazing. We walked for what felt like 10 minutes before we finally stopped in front of a hardwood door.

"This will be your room miss. If you should need anything please do not hesitate to ask. Master Dick's room is down the hall if you seek a companion. Master Bruce's bedroom is in the opposite wing."

"Thank you Alfred."

I entered my room and stared in awe. It was a huge and beautiful room. There was a queen sized bed with a canopy and blue curtains. I had my own bathroom and a huge closet. I could see a desk in the corner with a computer on it. It was stunning. I faintly heard Alfred walk away as I walked over to the bed. I touched the fluffy red comforter and the silky white sheets. The pillows were super soft and the carpet under my feet tickled my toes. As I flopped onto my new bed I felt the mattress suck me in and wrap itself around me like a hug. This was amazing! A true dream come true! I faintly heard a knock at my bedroom door and a sat up as the door opened. Bruce Wayne walked in with a small smile on his face.

"So what do you think?"

I jumped up and tackled him with a hug. "It's perfect! I could never have dreamed of this ever happening! Thank you thank you thank you!" I felt him give me a light hug back before I released him.

"We do need to get down to some serious subjects however. Follow me." He turned and began to walk down the hallway. I was quickly keeping pace as we passed Dick's room and he walked out. Seeing Robin without his whole getup on was kind of different. He gave me a big smile as we continued to walk.

"So pretty nice huh? I bet it beats that old place."

I smiled and nodded slightly.

"This is the kind of stuff I could have only dreamed of." I felt so lucky at that moment. After so many years of not being wanted, I was finally adopted and by Batman of all people. And I even had an adopted brother now too.

"So, does that make you my brother now?"

Dick thought about it for a second and gave a slight chuckle.

"I guess it does. Weird. I've never had a sister before. Let alone someone older than me."

"Wait, how did you know I was older than you?"

Another smile crossed his lips, this time though it held mischief though.

"We did a little bit of research on you after we met you. Standard procedure for anyone joining the team." I wasn't sure what to think of that. Wait! Does that mean he know who my...

"So then you know who.."

"Yeah. But who your parents are doesn't define you. Only you can do that. We can see your a lot different than your mom. So don't sweat it. Feel the aster."

"The what?"

"The aster. The opposite of disaster."

I let out a quiet chuckle. "I don't think that's quite what it means." Dick gave a small shrug. When I finally took notice of where we were, we were standing in an elevator. We were heading now. When we stepped out of the elevator I was greeted by the sight of the Batcave. I would have never thought I would actually get to see this. It was HUGE and there was high tech stuff everywhere.

"Wow...this is the Batcave?"

Dick gave a chuckle as we walked over to a large computer.

"Yeah. This is where we come after every mission. If there's something you need to know, our computer can find it for you. Of course, you have to have clearance."

Bruce took a seat in front of the computer and began typing. I saw my picture float up on the screen and glow green for a moment then disappear.

"I've just granted you access to the Batcave systems. You can come and go as you please and you can research what you need within certain parameters."

I faintly heard someone else coming down the elevator and glanced back seeing Alfred carrying something in his arms.

"I arranged for Alfred to have a suit put together for you while you are out in the field. Your previous attire could easily be snagged and used against you. These new clothes will keep you safer while maintaining the flexibility we require in our field."

Alfred handed me the folded up outfit and I stared at it. The color scheme was interesting to say the least. It was white, light blue and dark blue. The shirt was skin tight but comfortable and breathable while the pants were more like tights. They clung to my legs like suction cups, but it wasn't unfortable. The final piece I absolutely loved. It was a navy blue cloak that extended down to the floor and it had a hood. The final piece was a pair of black boots with little snowflake emblems on the side.

"I've also had it outfitted with stealth tech. Just tap the clasp on your cloak and the color scheme will change."

I stepped out of sight for a moment and changed into it. It fit perfectly and I absolutely LOVED this cloak. When I came back into view both Bruce and Dick had changed in to their uniforms as well.

"We will be going to meet the team shortly. Before that, I recommend thinking of a second name to go by when you are on this team. A secret identity is something very important in our world. We put a great deal of people and loved ones in danger when we fight against criminals. Having a secret identity could mean the difference between them remaining safe or being placed in harms way."

I nodded trying to think quickly on the spot. Maybe...

"How about Snowstorm?"

"I like it. And I don't think that names being used." Robin said with a smile while walking over to me. "The uniform suites you too."

"The name will suite it's purpose. We should leave. We will be taking a zeta tube there."

"What's a zeta tube?"

"It's a transporter that we use to travel long distances instantly." Robin explained before we all moved over to a large circular machine. Batman types something into a console and the machine suddenly whirred to life. I could see the faint golden glow of light coming from the back of the opening. The three of us stood in front of it and were suddenly engulfed in light. Only a moment later we emerged from the light into a large room. I quickly pulled my hood up as I heard voices coming closer. Robin noticed but remained silent until a group of four people entered the room.

I recognized a couple of them. Aqualad and Kid Flash. But I wasn't sure who the other two were. They all took notice of the three of us, of which I gradually moved myself behind Batman. I wasn't big on meeting a bunch of people at once. Let alone heroes. As they all came to a stop Batman began to speak.

"Team, this is your newest member. She will go by the name Snowstorm. She will be joining you on missions from this point forward."

The only girl in the group smiled and flew over to me, grabbing my hands and holding them.

"Welcome to the team! I'm so excited to have another girl around! My names M'gann, but you can call me Megan. That's my Earth name."

"It's nice to meet you Megan." I greeted quietly before I noticed Kid Flash walking over.

"Hey there. Name's Kid Flash. Why are you wearing that hood? There's no one to hide from here."

"I get slightly nervous when meeting people." I said once again quietly. He seemed to accept that as an answer before Robin spoke up.

"And this over here is Superboy. And this is Aqualad." It was sweet that Robin was trying to speed along introductions to make me feel more comfortable. I looked at him and a faint smile could be seen from under my hood. He smiled back before Aqualad approached me.

"Welcome to the team." He extended out his hand and I shook it. His face changed to a surprised expression for just a split moment. I could only assume he was surprised at how cold my hand was.

"Thank you Aqualad. I will do my best to help a such as possible."

A smile crossed his face and I swear I felt my heart skip a beat. Who could have thought a simple smile could change a person's appearance so much. He was quite handsome. 'Push those thoughts aside.' I scolded myself before releasing Aqualad's hand.

"Please, you may call me Kaldur." I nodded feeling surprisingly awkward at the situation. Should I tell them my real name? Or keep it a secret for now. I looked to Robin but he didn't seem to notice.

"Let me guess, Batman told you not to tell anyone your name?" At this point Batman had walked off and was typing on a floating keyboard with a bunch of screens floating in front of him.

"He didn't say that exactly. He did tell me that a secret identity is important in our line of work."

I could hear Kid Flash scoffing slightly as he pulled a candy bar out of his pocket. "Well, my names Wally. I trust you with my secret ID." I let out a small chuckle at how Wally seemed so carefree about this. Meanwhile I'm a nervous wreck.

"My name is...Eira." I spoke uncertainly and it sounded very apprehensive, but Wally smiled all the same.

"That's a pretty name."

A faint blush of embarrassment crossed my face and I bowed my head slightly lower hoping no one could see it under my hood.

"I'll leave you all to get acquainted with your newest member." Batman left shortly after and everyone seemed to begin talking amongst themselves.

"So Eira, would you like a tour of the cave?" M'gann walked next to me and started pulling me in the direction of the hallway.

"Um sure. Sounds fun" I stumbled at first, surprised at the pull she was giving me. M'gann talked my ear off for a good hour before the tour was over. I had opened up with her a bit and shared a little about my powers. She was curious about them but didn't pry. Overall the tour was nice. When we had come back everyone seemed to just be sitting around not doing too much.

"Hey guys, how about we all head down to Happy Harbor and show Eira around?" M'gann was really wanting me to feel welcome. It was sweet. Everyone seemed to agree and we headed to the hangar where I got to see the Martian bioship. It was amazing. As we stepped inside the seats sprung up from the floor and I took one quickly. My first outing with my new team. Kaldur took a seat to my right and Superboy took the one to my left. As the ship took off I felt my stomach do a backflip. This was my first time flying. The bioship shot out of the hangar after the door opened and I was greeted by the blue sky.

"Wow, this is amazing!" I said while staring out at everything.

Mount Justice looked so huge! To think, the cave made up the entire mountain. As we flew around the bay we swung in and landed just outside of Happy Harbor. It was a nice little town and it seemed pretty quiet. There were a lot of small stores and even a mall.

"So what should we do?" It was obvious Wally wasn't too thrilled about coming down here for no reason other than to sightsee. Right as Wally asked we started to hear screaming coming from down the street. I guess it was a good thing we were all in uniform, just in case. We all headed toward the source of the screaming and saw the smashed in window of the local bank. Alarms were going off and I could see people running away. Four large men climbed back out of the window with large bags of money slung over their shoulders. As they looked up and spotted us they froze. I could see the surprise and regret in their eyes almost immediately. After their brief pause they pulled out multiple guns and started firing at us. We all dispersed and I found myself playing the defensive. It seemed one of the gunners picked me as his target. I had formed a shield of ice in front of me but it was drawing most of my concentration. I was literally a sitting duck at this point. I noticed out of the corner of my eye a dark figure skirting around my shield and aiming at me, only to hear what sounded like a battle cry. I glanced to the side and watched as Kaldur slammed a water mace into the man's stomach. The man who was shooting at me became distracted by this for a brief moment and that allowed me to put down my shield and fire ice shards at him. He was easily pinned to a nearby wall and slammed his head. He slumped down slightly, having been knocked unconscious at the impact. At that point the others had already wrapped up their bad guys and had them tied up.

"So does this kind of stuff happens a lot?" I couldn't stop myself from asking. The group seemed to glance at each other and come to a concensus.

"Yeah, but normally it isn't this easy." Kid Flash had moved to my side and rested an arm on my shoulder.

"Normally we end up going against some pretty bad guys. Like our first mission we got sent to Santa Prisca where we went up against Bane and the Cult of the Cobra."

"Really? That's pretty cool." Wally smiled at me before Kaldur walked over toward us.

"We should return to the cave soon. I believe this has been enough of an outing for the day. The sun is already beginning to set and Red Tornado may begin wondering why we have not returned yet."

How could it already be so late? How was that possible. The fight didn't take that long right? I moved my arm and looked at my wrist, taking notice that it indeed was surprisingly late. It was already six. We all made our way back to the bioship then the cave. As we landed I could see everyone looking a little sleepy. All with the exception of Superboy and Kaldur. When we landed everyone headed their own way. Robin, Wally and I all headed toward the zeta tubes to go home, but at the last minute I decided to stay. Robin said he would see me at home and Wally said his good byes. I stayed in the cave for a few hours just exploring and trying to memorize every little hallway. This last two days had been a rollercoaster. I was an orphan just the other day, but now I was living in a mansion and working on a team of soon to be hereos. Life was pretty weird at times. It was now well after 9, but I couldn't bring myself to want to leave. M'gann and Superboy had already gone to sleep so I was pretty much by myself. As I sat at a stool in the kitchen I noticed the pool of water that led outside the mountain. Glancing around I walked over to it and stared into the crystal clear water. I could faintly see my reflection looking back at me. I glanced around once more before pulling my cloak off and letting my hair fall down to my waist. I folded my cloak and placed in on the floor before slipping my shoes off and sitting down. I dipped my feet in the water and smiled at the refreshing feeling I got from it.

I sat there for a little while just swinging my feet back and forth in the water. Every now and then I would giggle from the ticklish feeling of the water rushing between my toes. In my brief moment of distraction I faintly heard the sound of muffled footstep behind me. I turned around quickly, my hands getting ready to blast whoever was sneaking up behind me. To my surprise it was only Kaldur, but his eyes held confusion until he noticed my cloak placed next to me.

"Eira, what are you still doing here? I would have thought you would have gone home hours ago." I smiled up at Kaldur before really wondering what had kept me here.

"I wanted to look around a little bit. This is all so amazing I just wanted more time to take it in."

Kaldur smiled down at before asking, " May I sit with you?"

I nodded quickly before he sat down quietly next to me and dipped his feet in the water as well.

"How do you like it here?"

"It's wonderful. I would have never dreamed a few days ago that I would be doing anything like this. I had to pinch myself a ton because I thought I was dreaming." Kaldur let out a light chuckle at my words before continuing.

"I am glad to hear that you like it here so much. Tell me, how do you feel about the team?"

"They're all really nice. Megan is super sweet and I can tell we're going to be good friends. Wally seems nice too, but he strikes me as a flirt. Superboy I'm not too sure about. He doesn't seem super friendly but I can't tell if he's always like that or if he's just like that because I'm new."

"Superboy is still adjusting to many things and I know he will come around soon."

"That's good to hear."

There was a brief silence as I swished my feet back and forth and let out a light giggle again. I could tell that it was getting later so I reluctantly pulled my feet out of the water. As I stood Kaldur did as well while taking his first true look at my appearance.

"I should probably head home. Don't want anyone worrying. It was nice talking with you Kaldur. I'll see you tomorrow."

As I picked up my cloak and walked away I waved good bye to Kaldur. The zeta tube came to life and I emerged in the Batcave. Batman was typing on the Bat computer while Robin had appeared to have gone to bed. Batman glanced my way for a moment before going back to his work.

"How was your first day with the team?"

A smile crossed my face before I could suppress it. "It was great. We stopped a bank robbery and I got to explore the cave. Everyone is so nice. I really think I'm going to like this." Batman nodded while still typing away.

"There has been nothing on any crime scanners all evening so you can head to sleep if you would like. I can handle anything that comes up."

I nodded before walking to the elevator upstairs. Alfred made sure to take my cloak and hand me some pj's to change into once I got upstairs. When I made it into my room I changed and fell onto my comfy bed. As I stared up at my ceiling with a smile on my face I couldn't help thinking that today was the best day ever. Everything I could have hoped for was all coming true. I would have never guessed that this could happen to me. Not in a million years, but here I was, living this dream. As I continued to think my eyes grew heavier and heavier until I eventually drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3: My First Mission

_**I apologize for the delay in posting, I've been very distracted by work lately. Please enjoy and review.**_

Chapter 3: My First Mission

I woke up in the early afternoon I guess. I heard a knock on my door and mumbled for whoever it was to come in. Alfred stepped in with a tray with food on it.

"Miss Eira, I've brought you some lunch before you head out for the day."

I smiled at Alfred as he handed me the tray.

"Thank you Alfred. I appreciate it."

"You are quite welcome."

Alfred left a moment later and I quickly ate breakfast. It was so delicious! I don't think I've ever had something so yummy ever. After eating I got up and changed into my uniform. I was feeling especially peppy today, but I wasn't quite sure as to why. As I made my way down to the Batcave I met up with Robin who seemed to be headed down too.

"Going to the cave?" I asked as we walked down the hall. Robin nodded as we made our way into the elevator.

"Yeah. Was hoping that we could get a mission today."

I could understand Robin's eagerness. I personally couldn't wait for my first official mission with the team. We found our way to the zeta tubes and teleported to Mt. Justice. As we arrived we watched Superboy leaving.

"I'm heading to Metropolis." He said briefly before disappearing into the golden light. We walked over to Aqualad who was seated on a chair in the kitchen.

"Any new missions for us?" Robin inquired with a hopeful look on his face.

Aqualad shook his head with a rather discouraged look on his face.

"No. There has been no missions. I am afraid we will be...entertaining ourselves once again." He seemed to cringe slightly when he said entertain. It was clear that everyone here was itching for a mission, but we weren't being given anything. Megan entertained herself by cooking for a little while and I helped her out. Wally, Kaldur and Robin seemed to be busy playing holographic air hockey. Once Megan and I had baked a few pies and about an hour had passed we decided to watch the boys play. We were only watching for about 20 minutes before the zeta tube came to life and Superboy came stomping through. Megan seemed to perk up for a moment when she spotted him.

"Hi Superboy, how was Metropolis?" Superboy just kept walking with a grumpy look on his face. Once he had passed I heard someone clear their throat.

"Ready for training everyone?" I looked over and spotted two people I only recognized from TV.

"Black Canary. Uncle J'onn!" Megan was clearly excited to see her uncle as she walked over to him quickly and hugged him.

"M'gann. I was in the neighborhood and thought I would stop by to see how you were adjusting." He was beaming just talking to Megan.

"A few bumps, but I'm learning." She said before Martian Manhunter continued.

"That's all I can ask." At that moment I noticed Superboy who had previously stopped was turning to walk away again. However Black Canary wasn't about to have that.

"Stick around. Class is in session." Superboy had stopped and turned back around with that grumpy look still on his face. I wonder what kind of class Black Canary was going to be teaching us. Canary walked forward into the center of the projection floor. It began to light up and extend in a circle.

"I consider it an honor to be your teacher. I'll throw a lot at you everything I've learned from my own mentors.." she paused as she began to take off her jacket where I could see her arm was bandaged. She flinched at the pain before continuing, "And my own bruises."

"What happened?" Megan asked with a look of worry on her face. I didn't think it was common to see a superhero injured like that.

"The job. Now combat is about controlling conflict, putting the battle on your terms. You should always we acting, never reacting. I'll need a sparring partner."

"Right here." Wally said while raising his hand and talking with his mouth full. He walked up and finished his banana.

"After this..." he tossed the banana peel and made it in the trash. "Swoosh, I'll show you my moves." I rolled my eyes at his flirting. He was going to get his butt handed to him so fast. It was going to be hilarious.

I saw Black Canary smirk before she lunged at him with a quick punch. He blocked it easily, but what he didn't see coming was her swiping his feet out from under him. He hit the ground hard and the floor lit up with his name and the word failed. I had to try hard not to laugh.

"Ugh, hurts so good." He said up to Canary while she stared down at him.

"Good block, but did anyone see what he did wrong?" She had helped Wally up off the floor while Robin raised his hand.

"Ooh Ooh, he hit on teacher and got served?" I couldn't help but let out a quiet giggle as I heard Kid Flash say something. It was obvious he was embarrassed.

"He allowed me to dictate the terms of..." Canary was starting to explain before Superboy interrupted her.

"Oh please. With my powers the battles always on my terms. I'm a living weapon and this is a waste of my time." I could see Canary let a smirk cross her face again.

"Prove it." She said as if egging Superboy on. This wasn't going to end well. Superboy raised an eyebrow, but walked up to Canary with his arms crossed at his chest. They both took fighting stances and Superboy was the one to throw the first punch. Canary moved and grabbed his wrist, flinging him over her shoulder and across the training floor. Robin pointed and started laughing, but was was elbowed in the side by Kaldur. He covered his mouth and muffled his snickering. I knew this would be bad. Superboy got up and let out a frustrated growl while glaring at Canary.

"You're angry. Good, but don't react. Channel that anger into.." Canary was cut off by Superboy yelling and charging at her with his fist raised. She flipped over her and swiped his legs out from under him just like she did with Wally. Robin was still trying to hold back his laughter while Superboy was getting up.

"That's it, I'm done." Canary had offered her hand to help him up, but he pushed it away.

"Training is mandatory." She said while placing a hand on his shoulder. He swung his arm to make her let go just in time for an alarm to go off and a screen to appear with Batman on it.

"Batman to the cave. Five hours ago a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary. The attacker was capable of studying, then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents. Arrow called in reinforcements, which nearly proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each combatant."

"Woah. One guy with the powers of the entire league?" Everyone seemed just as stunned as Wally. As everyone seemed to focus in on Batman I took notice of the enemy. He looked like a machine. He had unnatural seams and creases as well as shiny skin.

"In the end it took 8 leaguers 4 hours to defeat and dismantle the android." Batman's words resonated in my head.

'So that thing was a machine.' I thought while glancing over toward Robin who I heard begin to speak.

"An android? Who made it? T.O. Morrow?" Clearly they had dealt with this person before. If he was truly capable of building something like this I'm glad I never met him.

"Good guess Robin. But Red Tornado doesn't think so."

"The technology bares the signature of Professor Ivo."

'Great, now there's two evil android builders that I know about. Got to keep those names in mind for my avoid list.' My thoughts were interrupted by Kaldur who had remained quiet this entire time.

"Ivo? But Ivo's dead."

Canary had turned back slightly to look at Kaldur before speaking.

"So we'd all thought, or hoped."

Batman began to continue once again.

"To make certain this threat is permanantly neutralized we're sending two trucks carrying the androids parts to two separate STAR labs facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation."

A map and red arrows appeared on screen displaying the routes the trucks would be taking.

"Every precaution is being taken. We'll have 4 additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo or anyone tries to recover the remains. You will split into under cover teams to safeguard the two real trucks."

Wally seemed super excited as he spoke.

"Yes! Road trip!"

Superboy on the other hand did not seem quite as enthusiastic.

"So now we take out your trash?"

Batman didn't seemed to pleased and his tone changed slightly to a darker on.

"You had something better to do?"

This was pretty serious obviously, and Superboy was not getting that. I don't know what happened in Metropolis to make him this grumpy, but he needed to stop taking his frustration out on others. I could see Superboy look off to the side realizing he had been in the wrong. At that moment a box Kaldur had in his hand beeped.

"Coordinates received. On our way."

We all took off toward the hangar to board the bioship for the trip. I noticed Superboy lagged behind and Canary said something to him, but I couldn't hear. Within the next couple of minutes we were airborne and heading to the coordinates we received. It was a short trip and we soon landed in the trees nearby. There were multiple leaguers there as we landed and we began to discuss how we would follow the trucks. We soon found out it was by motorcycle. My heart sank as everyone mounted onto one within the tree line and I fidgeted. I didn't know how to ride a motorcycle, but Batman already had a place for me. As they loaded up one of the trucks, I was going to remain inside with the parts. I was a last minute defense against anything or anyone who may try to steal the parts. As I sat down in the back of the truck I felt it start to move. I could faintly hear the sounds of the other trucks and finally the motorcycles. I knew I was in the same group as Robin and Superboy, but for a little bit there was nothing but silence over our intercom system.

"If dislike is the opposite of like then does that mean disaster is the opposite of aster? See, instead of things going wrong they go right?"

Superboy was silent, so I let out a sigh before answering.

"Robin, I think I've mentioned it before, but I don't think it works like that."

"Clearly you both aren't feeling the aster. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just sitting in a dark truck with pieces of a creepy android."

I could faintly hear Superboy preparing to say something.

"Canary. And what business does she have teaching combat skills to a guy with super strength."

"Taking down stronger guys is part of the gig. Canary learned that the hard way. Same with Batman and well, me."

I heard a motorcycle engine rev, so I assumed Superboy didn't like that answer. His motorcycle grew louder as he came closer to the truck.

"Superboy, even with super strength, if you don't know how to use it properly you might as well not have it at all. Someone with quick reflexes could take you down without so much as a bruise. That's what she was trying to teach you."

I could faintly hear Superboy grumbling in his headset before silence hit my ears again. The silence didn't continue for very long though before I heard a strange and eerie noise. I could hear laughing as multiple pounding sounds resonated through the truck.

"What's going on?" I said frantically while standing up and getting my hands ready to fight if I needed to.

"Robin, Superboy, Snowstorm! Our truck is under attack!" I heard Kaldur call out in my ear before Robin chimed in.

"Kind of figured."

I could hear whatever was on the truck moving and prying at the metal trying to get inside all while laughing. The truck began to swerve back and forth causing me to smack into the wall.

"Robot Monkey's! Ha Ha! Totally Ivo's tweaked style!"

We were seriously being attacked by robot monkeys? How does that even make sense?

"I'm glad you find this funny Robin, but I'm getting tossed around in here a little bit. Could I get some help?!" My shoulder was burning from the impact and it was making me irritable.

"Hey hey, switch your ride to battle mode." The pounding on the truck continued before I heard Superboy say something and rev closer to the truck. I heard a loud thump and assumed that Superboy had gotten onto the truck.

"Or not!" I heard Robin say in almost a panic as something else clanked against the metal of the truck followed by two thumps.

'Well at least they're both still here with me.' I thought while still waiting for something to get inside. I could hear clanking and thunking as I assume Robin and Superboy were getting rid of the monkeys. It was killing me a little on the inside not knowing what was going on. I could faintly hear explosions outside and the guys doing their best to fight off the robots. I suddenly heard Superboy yell out in pain before the monkey laughs filled the air again. I suddenly noticed lasers cutting through the roof right above me and as the metal peeled back monkeys began to clamber in. I fired waves of ice at them, but knew I would be outnumbered soon if Robin and Superboy didn't help.

"Guy's! I could use some help!" No sooner had I asked did Robin take care of most of the monkeys right above me. I managed to get rid of the ones that were with me right as another thunk racked the truck. I could hear Superboy above me tossing monkeys everywhere. Suddenly the truck started to swerve back and forth and I could hear Robin yelling to the driver to get out. "Snowstorm! Brace for impact!" In an instant I knelt down next to the crate and surrounded it and myself with ice. Thank goodness my ice didn't shatter like normal ice. I felt the truck tip over and begin sliding as my frozen form hit the wall. When covering my self in ice I wasn't able to move at all, so I was just a sitting target. The truck flipped a few times and when it finally came to a stop I unfroze myself, but left the crate covered. I heard an explosion from the back of the truck and turned to see the monkeys were responsible. I could see the monkeys coming closer to me and the case, so I put up an ice shield directly in front of me. The monkeys seemed confused for a brief moment trying to break through, but to no avail. One even shot lasers at me, but they simply bounced back. Somehow though, they found a way around my shield. Some jumped on me, obviously trying to get me to remove the ice from the case but that didn't work. They were chattering before six jumped onto me and managed to restrain me. I squirmed and screamed as they lifted me into the air and flew me out of the truck with the case. As they flew, a monkey grabbed the earpiece I had and shocked it, making me lose my only form of communication with the team.

"Dang it." I mumbled as they flew toward what appeared to be a moving train. One of the doors slid open and I was tossed inside.

"My my, what did you bring me?" Standing in front of me was a short man with orange hair. Was this Ivo? He didn't look like much. A monkey landed on his shoulder and the man grabbed a drive from the back of its neck. He plugged it into a small computer and watched footage of me freezing the crate.

"Ah, I see. Well then my dear, go ahead and unfreeze my creation. I have many things to attend to." I glared at the man in defiance as I encased my hands with ice. "Oh come now. There's no need for that. If you willingly remove that ice, I'll make sure that my amazing Amazo spares you long enough to see all your heroes destroyed." The man let out a laugh that was slightly reminiscent of the monkeys. It was super creepy. He could easily see that I wasn't budging, so his monkeys flew at me again and shoved me into a wall. My head smacked against the metal extremely hard and my vision was growing fuzzy. Right before I lost consciousness I saw the ice around the case disappearing and I heard Superboy's yell coming from outside.

For a little while I faded in and out of consciousness. I saw the android had been reassembled, I saw Superboy being attacked, and I think I felt something moving me.

"I think once you're conscious again we'll have my Amazo copy your powers as well." I could faintly heard monkeys laughing again before complete darkness encompassed me.

When I finally awoke for good this time, I was in an auditorium of some kind and down below me I was watching Robin, Wally and Superboy all fighting the android. I tried to move, but found my hands and feet tied up.

"Ah ah ah. Wouldn't want you getting away now would we?" Ivo said from directly next to me. I went to try and use my powers, but felt a huge weight push on my chest.

"We what did you do to me!" I yelled at him as a smile crossed his face.

"My dear, I simply placed an inhibitor collar on you. Can't have you using that pesky ice of yours."

I truly felt helpless at this point. I usually always had my powers to fall back on, and now I had nothing. I couldn't move or anything. I could just sit there and be pathetic. I looked toward the center of the room and began to watch the fight unfold in front of me. I watched the guys trying their best, but the android seemed to have the perfect defense. They were getting tossed around like rag dolls. If only I could help. I squirmed in my restraints and felt one of the ropes binding my ankles together getting looser. Inwardly I cheered in joy, but I simply kept squirming. The ropes were finally loose enough for me to slip my feet out. Thank goodness this guy wasn't any good at tying knots. My wrists were another story however. The ropes were so tight they were digging in. Moving them actually hurt. I could feel marks being left on my skin. As I continued to watch I saw Wally get picked up and was slowly being crushed. My heart began to beat twice as fast before an arrow shot through the air causing the android to phase and drop Wally. I could see the guys all laying in heaps across the auditorium and noticed Superboy was pausing. The look on his face looked...different. Like he had just come to a realization. I heard Ivo yawn next to me.

"Normally Amazo would study and mimic your abilities during battle, but what's the point? You're all such poor copies of the originals."

"So everyone keeps saying. It makes me angry!" I watched as Superboy launched into the air and my eyes grew bigger seeing where he was going. As he came closer I jumped out of the way just as Ivo moved as well. In that moment I spotted Robin coming closer. He threw one of his birdarangs near me and I quickly cut the ropes securing my hands. I began to try and pry at the collar, but had no success. I wasn't strong enough to break it.

"Anyone wanna play keep away?" I could hear Robin kick Ivo and the android turned on him. It seemed like they had a plan and I wanted in. No way I was going to be playing the damsel in distress anymore.

"Me me!" I heard Wally yell as he ran towards Ivo.

"Me too!" I yelled as Wally shot into the air from the ground cracking under him. Ivo had gotten to his feet right as I laid a punch on his cheek, sending him staggering back. Before Amazo could blast me though Robin threw some of his explosives of which Amazo phased to avoid, only to have Superboy drop down and place a punch through his phased head. As he unphased to attack Superboy, Superboy's hand was caught in the androids head and exploded. The android fell over and Robin immediately ran up to it.

"Help me disassemble him now!"

"Dude, the guy has no head." Wally retorted before I heard Kaldur speak up.

"Don't take any chances."

Kaldur and Megan came into the auditorium and Megan immediately flew over to Superboy.

"Superboy, are you alright?"

From where I was standing I could see a smile on Superboy's face.

"I'm fine. Feeling the aster." He looked over to Robin who was grinning back at him.

"Hey, where's Ivo?" Wally questioned while we all looked around.

"I didn't see where he went after I punched him." I said while looking down slightly disappointed that I hadn't paid attention.

"It is alright. We will catch him soon enough." Kaldur said to me before placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. He noticed the collar around my neck, and a surprised look reached his eyes.

"Did Ivo place that collar on you?" I looked down as much as possible and grabbed the collar. The others finally took notice of it, and more surprise filled their faces.

"How did Ivo get his hands on one of those?" Robin questioned as Kaldur broke the collar. I felt the weight that had been on my chest ease and a smile crossed my face.

"Thank you. That thing makes your chest feel heavy." The collar had left a red mark, but otherwise I was fine. I think I had a bump on my head though from the train. Once the focus was off me we disassembled the android and managed to get it to the STAR labs facilities they were intended to reach. After the delivery was completed we all headed back to the cave. Once inside we were greeted by Batman, Red Tornado, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter and Black Canary. Once we were all together Kaldur began to give Batman the mission report.

"The Amazo android is in pieces again safely being analyzed at the two separate STAR labs, but Ivo escaped and since he originated the tech, he's arguably more dangerous than the android."

"Capturing the professor will be a league priority." Canary answered before Martian Manhunter spoke up.

"We understand that your mission encountered other complications."

I looked down slightly knowing that Superboy and I were the other complications. Batman stepped forward and I was expecting to be scolded.

"Complications come with the job. Your ability to handle them has impressed the league." Superboy seemed to perk up for a moment.

"The whole league?" I saw hope in his eyes that I hadn't seen before.

"Given time, yes. Kryptonians, as you know, have very hard heads." I saw Superboy smile at that and I was beginning to put pieces together as to what they were discussing.

"Of course, there's no shame in asking for help. That's why the league exists, because there's some problems even we can't handle individually."

Robin was quick to answer with a rebuttal to Batman's words however.

"Please. If we needed help we'd never get the chance to ask." Robin pulled out the arrow that saved Wally and showed it to Batman. "Look familiar? You were following us. Babysitting! You still don't trust us." Batman took the arrow from Robin and studied it carefully before turning and presenting it to Green Arrow.

"We didn't follow you." Batman said simply as Green Arrow pulled out one of his arrows. It was quite a dramatic difference between the two.

"And that's not your arrow, but that means-" Robin began but was cut off by Wally.

"Speedy!" Wally called out sounding super happy.

"He has our backs." Kaldur added with a smile. Wally rushed up and grabbed the arrow.

"Souvenir." He said happily while looking at the arrow. I could see Batman and Green Arrow looking at each other from behind Wally. Something told me they had a different idea as to who the owner of that arrow was. After a brief moment I watched Superboy walk over to Black Canary and clear his throat. They made eye contact before he spoke.

"I'm ready."

I could see a smile tug at Canary's lips as she fully turned to him. "Good. Cause I'm here." This Superboy I was seeing in front of me was the real Superboy. I could tell that he was a good guy and even nice, you just had to get passed his anger to see it. Once the debriefing was over we all dispersed. Superboy began training with Canary right away and Megan went to the kitchen to start cooking. I was just about to head to the zeta tubes with Robin and Wally when Kaldur stopped me.

"I am sorry you were put through such an experience on your first mission." His eyes held concern behind them and I could tell that he really cared about all of his teammates.

"It's no biggie." I said with a smile. "I've been through worse. Besides, you all got to me before anything bad could happen. I just hated feeling powerless to do anything. I'm never going to fall into that position again."

Kaldur gave a small nod before a smile crept onto his face. At his smile I felt my stomach explode with butterflies and I quickly tried to suppress them. "I-I should probably head home. I'll see you later Kaldur." I mentally slapped myself for stuttering as I turned and practically ran after Wally and Robin. As we passed through and Robin and I arrived back at the cave I was bombarded with questions.

"Are you okay? What did Ivo do to you? Why did he tie you up like that?"

I stared at Robin with huge eyes as he inspected the red mark from my collar.

"Dick, I'm fine. He didn't do anything to me other than tie me up and put the collar on. I think he wanted to keep me from getting away, so his android could copy my powers. Thankfully he couldn't copy them while I was unconscious otherwise you all would have been popsicles." It was kind of sweet that he was concerned for me. I had only been his "sister" for a short time, but he was treating me like we had known each other our whole lives. I saw relief cross his face as he took off his mask and put it down. I removed my cloak and took my pj's from Alfred who was now standing nearby.

"Thank you Alfred."

"You're quite welcome miss. I have prepared dinner for you and Master Dick whenever you two would like to eat." At that very moment my stomach growled and a blush of embarrassment crossed my face.

"That sounds amazing Alfred. I think I'll go eat right now." I could hear Dick laughing behind me because of my stomach as we both headed up to the kitchen to eat after changing. After dinner we walked to our rooms together, but before heading into his room Dick paused and looked at me with concern.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

I nodded with a smile and gave him a quick hug. "I promise I'm okay, now stop worrying."

He gave me a light hug back before going into his room. I continued down the hall to my room and went inside only to collapse on my bed. I still felt the faintest feeling of that weight on my chest. It was a horrible feeling. I felt almost like I couldn't breathe. And I could only imagine how he seemed to have a perfect collar for my powers. It was an uneasy feeling to know that she probably had something to do with it, but how did she know I would be there. How did she know to give that exact collar to Ivo to use on me. It was way too suspicious to be a coincidence. I would need to look into it eventually, but for now I needed sleep. Before I knew it, my eyes had closed and I had fallen asleep without even crawling under the blankets. I dreamt of nothing and had one of the best sleeps in a very long time.


	4. Chapter 4: A New Member

Chapter 4: A New Member

It took a few days for my bruises and the bump on my head to go away, but then everything was back to normal. We hadn't gotten any missions lately so someone came up with the idea of doing a beach day. I was super excited since I had never been to the beach before, but I was also really nervous. Beach meant swimming, which meant a swimsuit. I had spent so many years covering myself up to hide, that just the thought of putting on something like a swimsuit was making me panic. I had convinced Megan to take me to Happy Harbor and help me pick one out, but it was not going well. Everything that we kept finding were super skimpy bikinis and neither of us wanted that. I started combing through a rack in a corner and came across a yellow bikini top with some boyshort bottoms. I called Megan over and showed it to her.

"This might work for you. It's a bit of a compromise between too showy and totally covered, plus this color would look great against your skin tone." During my time at the orphanage I did learn a little about fashion from magazine's. Enough to know that Megan's green skin tone would be complimented by the yellow. I saw a smile on Megan's face in an instant when she took it from me.

"This is perfect Eira! Now we just need to find something for you."

My stomach sank as we continued to look through the racks until I heard Megan call me from across the store. I walked over and studied what she had in her hands. It was a two piece, but the top was more like a tank top that a bikini top. It would have still showed my stomach a little, but I was okay with that. It also came with bottoms identical to Megan's. My one crucial tipping factor though was the color. It was such a deep blue with little white patches that looked like waves. I smiled and nodded, knowing that this would probably be one of the few things I might be comfortable in. We left the store and headed back to the cave only to be greeted by everyone already in their beach attire and waiting for us. We hurried off to change and once I was done I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror. The blue actually complimented my skin color surprisingly well. I actually looked a little less pale, but my stomach began to flip around at just the thought of being so exposed in public. I looked around for a few minutes and found a hoodie, but hesitated picking it up. I had no reason to be nervous about what I looked like anymore because everyone on the team seemed to accept it, but deep down I couldn't shake the nerves. I pulled the hoodie on which made me feel more secure again. Knowing how hot it was though, I knew I would be dying of heat stroke in no time. I spent a good 10 minutes going back and forth with myself before slipping the hoodie back off. Instead I grabbed my white towel that we bought right before leaving the store and wrapped it around myself. The nerves subsided slightly, but still hung around in the background. I was okay with this though. I slipped on a pair of sandals and ran out of the room, knowing very well that everyone was waiting for me. When I reached the exit to the cave that led to the beach I saw everyone waiting patiently.

"Sorry I took so long." I said with a blush of embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it Eira. Let's just go to the beach and have fun!" Megan said happily before we all walked outside. Once we were outside, Megan ran ahead and stretched out her arms taking in the sun.

"Hello Megan. We should hit the beach every day." I was beginning to feel her excitement as well once I felt the sand in between my toes and saw the crystal blue water sparkling. We all walked up next to Megan and paused for a moment while Robin bowed his head.

"First, a moment of silence for our absent comrade."

I felt really bad for Wally that he was missing out on beach day. Poor guy had to go to school. Thankfully school for me and Dick didn't start for a little bit longer because it got demolished during the Amazo fight.

I saw Megan bow her head as well with a slightly sad look on her face.

"Poor Wally."

We all nodded before beginning to set up everything on the beach. We set up the volleyball net and the grill and I soon saw everybody getting in the water. I sat on the sand for a little bit just watching everyone splash each other. I was still keeping my towel wrapped tightly around me just to keep my nerves from acting up. Just watching went on for only five minutes though, before Robin walked over to me with a slightly disappointed look.

"Come on Eira, come get in the water. It's a ton of fun."

I glanced from the water to Robin and back again. I wanted to, but at the same time just the thought made my stomach start doing backflips.

"I'm not sure." My voice held uncertainty and it was obvious I was nervous. Robin smiled and pulled me to my feet.

"Don't be so nervous. We're all your friends."

I let out a sigh at Robin's words knowing that he was right. I put my towel down on the sand and walked into the water. As soon as I was waste deep a huge splash of water met my face. I started coughing as I moved my now soaking wet hair out of my face. Both Robin and Megan had huge grins on their faces, so naturally I immediately retaliated. I splashed Megan first since she was the easy one, but Robin was going to take a bit more effort. I ended up catching him and dunking him underwater. We probably stayed in the water for a couple of hours before getting out and drying off. We all sat down around the grill and cooked some hot dogs. I sat between Megan and Kaldur on the sand. Robin was a good cook and every hot dog came out perfect. I wish I was that good. After eating we started playing some volleyball, but because there were an odd number of us I agreed to be the score keeper. It was a really good game, but what would you expect. A martian and kryptinian versus an atlantean and Batman's protégé. The game went on for about an hour before we called it a draw. The score was tied at 10-10 for the majority of the game. After volleyball we ended our beach day by burying Superboy in the sand. The sand pile was huge! As we continued piling on more and more sand we saw the sun beginning to set. Superboy managed to get out from under the pile and we all began to clean up. Kaldur and I had to clean up the grill and fire pit while Superboy, Robin and Megan took care of the volleyball net and all of our towels. I extinguished the flame for the grill with a blast of ice and made the grill cool enough to touch. As Kaldur began to pick everything up I shoveled sand over the ashes from the fire.

"So, did you enjoy yourself today?" I paused to glance up at Kaldur as he spoke to me while a huge grin spread across my face.

"I had a blast! I never knew the beach could be this much fun!" My sheer joy and excitement was getting the best of me.

"Have you never been to the beach before?"

I shook my head, my smile falling slightly.

"I didn't get to do very many things growing up. But now I have plenty of time to do it and friends to do it with." My mood had picked back up as I completely stood again and began walking with Kaldur back inside.

"We will need to set another day to where we can all enjoy ourselves. Perhaps we could do something you have been unable to do."

"That would be amazing! Maybe we could go to a zoo? Or maybe an amusement park? Oh oh maybe we could go to an aquarium! I love fish!"

Kaldur was smiling at my enthusiasm as I spoke.

"An aquarium may be a good place to start. We could all go on our next day off." Our conversation ended with smiles before we entered the cave and were told to suit up and return to the mission room. I ran off and changed quickly into my uniform and cloak, only to return to the mission room and see a girl I've never seen before. Once we had all assembled back in the mission room the zeta tube came to life, announcing Wally. He materialized and was carrying everything you would need for the beach.

"The Wall-man is here. Now let's get this party star-" Wally began to run forward but ended up tripping. He glanced up and looked at us all. "Ted." He finished before the new girl I had never seen before spoke up.

"Wall-man huh? I love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?"

Wally at this point had stood up and and walked over to our little circle.

"Uh, who's this?" He questioned with a slightly irritated look on his face. It was obvious he didn't appreciate the teasing at his entrance.

"Artemis, your new teammate." She responded as I studied her. It was obvious she was with Green Arrow and it was nice to have another member on our team, but she struck me as having a bit of an attitude.

"Kid Flash. Never heard of you." I had a feeling that the way things were going this would go downhill pretty fast.

"She's my new protégé." Green Arrow said while walking up and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"What happened to your old one?" Wally asked and I could sense something else in his words and expression. Not quite sadness but I wasn't sure what. As if on queue the zeta tube lit up again and announced Speedy.

"Well for starters he doesn't go by Speedy anymore. Call me Red Arrow." Out stepped someone I didn't recognize at first. It took me a minute to realize that I had seen him on TV before. Green Arrow stepped forward and I could hear surprise in his voice as he began to talk.

"Roy, you look-" before Green Arrow could finish he was cut off.

"Replaceable." Roy seemed to be pretty hostile toward his former mentor as he walked closer.

"It's not like that. You told me you were going solo."

"So why waste time finding a sub? Can she even use that bow?" Roy was clearly mad at being replaced, but I think I was on Green Arrow's side here. If Red Arrow said he was going solo then he had a right to find someone who wanted to work with him.

"Yes, she can." Artemis stepped up to Red Arrow and started to get a little close for comfort. It was obvious things were escalating quickly.

"Who are you?" Wally chimed in while shrugging get his shoulders slightly.

"I'm his niece."

"She's my niece." Both Green Arrow and Artemis said simultaneously. That was a little..suspicious. They both seemed a little too eager to give that information.

"Another niece?" Robin questioned seemingly as suspicious as I was.

"But she is not your replacement. We have always wanted you on the team, and there is no quota on archers." Kaldur was calm and even toned, clearly trying to diffuse the situation.

"And if we did, you know who we'd pick." I mentally slapped my face at Wally's words. Good job at making the situation worse Wally.

"Whatever Bay Watch, I'm here to stay." It was clear Artemis was the type of person to not back down, even when challenged. I could see she had a hard personality, but maybe we could get along. Maybe this personality was just a front to hide who she really was.

"You came to us for a reason." Kaldur said while Red Arrow fully turned to face him.

"Yeah, that reason is called Dr. Sterling Roquette."

"Nanorobotics genius and claytronics expert at the Royal University is Star City-vanished 2 weeks ago." Clearly Robin was in awe of this woman as an image of her appeared on the screen. She certainly looked like a smart woman.

"Abducted 2 weeks ago, by the League of Shadows."

"Woah, you want us to rescue her from the Shadow's?" Everyone seemed to come closer at the prospect of a mission. Robin was especially eager.

"Hard core." Wally said while fist bumping Robin.

Red Arrow took a few steps forward before taking once again.

"I already rescued her. Only once problem, the shadows had already coerced her into making a weapon. Doc calls it The Fog, comprised of millions of microscopic robots, nanotech infiltraters capable of disintegrating anything in their path-concrete, steel, flesh, bone. But it's true purpose isn't mere destruction. It's theft. The infiltraters eat and store raw data from any computer system and deliver the stolen Intel to The Shadows...providing the access to weapons, strategic defense, cutting edge science and tech." Red Arrow finished and I could tell this was extremely serious.

"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power broking. Yeah, sounds like the shadows."

Artemis' response left me speechless. She seemed very knowledgeable on these things.

"Like you know anything about the shadows." Wally said rather irritably. Artemis turned and gave his a knowing smile which just seemed to anger Wally even more.

"Who are you?!" He yelled as she turned away.

"Roquette's working on a virus to render the Fog inert."

"But if the shadows know she can do that..." Robin and I were having the same thought. This lady was now a huge target for this League of Shadows.

"They'll target her. Right now she's off the grid. I stashed her at the local high schools computer lab." Red Arrow finished with our little briefing.

"You left her alone?" Green Arrow questioned with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"She's safe enough for now."

"The lets you and I keep her that way." Green Arrow was stepping forward but I could see it wasn't going to go anywhere.

"You and I? Don't you wanna take your new protégé?" I could see Green Arrow was about to say something but Batman placed a hand on his shoulder to tell him not to push it.

"You brought this to the team, it's their mission. Which means it's here's now too." Green Arrow explained and I heard Red Arrow scoff.

"Then my job here's done." He said as he was walking back to the zeta tube. It came to life and announced his name but he said the voice command to change it with a kind of frustration in his voice. After Red Arrow left I could see Wally glaring at Artemis who simply glared back while turning away. Batman soon sent us on our way and within a few short minutes we arrived at the high school. I remained outside next to Megan on the roof, scanning the area for anything strange. I noticed Megan place a hand on her forehead and suddenly I could hear her talking in my head.

'Everyone online?'

'Woah, how are you doing this?' I questioned into the mind link. It was on odd feeling to say the least.

'Oh. This is weird.' I was totally agreeing with Artemis on this one.

'And distracting. Coding a distributive algorithm virus on a kiddie computer with less RAM than a wristwatch is hard enough. Now I have to hear teen-think in my skull?' This Dr. Roquette lady had an attitude on her and it was slightly irritating. I mean we were helping her and this is how she treated us?

'Lady, do you always complain when someone tries to help you?' Wally seemed to share my sentiment as I remained silent in the mind link. I moved around to the opposite side of the room and continued scanning the area.

'Pot, kettle. Have you met?' Artemis said as I was growing increasingly impatient.

'Hey. Hey, I do not need attitude from the newbie who drove Red Arrow off the team.'

'KF I don't think Red Arrow would have joined the team even if Artemis wasn't here. He doesn't seem like much of a team player.' I retorted back out of frustration getting mad that this argument was happening on a mission.

'Yeah, that is so not on me.' Artemis added before I heard Roquette piped back in again.

'Fate of the world at stake!' She was obviously getting pretty mad and listening to the two of them go back and forth I was starting to lean toward her side.

'She started it.' Wally said accusingly.

'How bout I just help Miss Martian, Superboy and Snowstorm patrol the perimeter.' I could tell Artemis was leaving the room as I heard Kaldur say that it was a good idea. I started tuning out the majority of the conversations now as I made my way down onto the ground. I kept walking along the fence and paused when I would hear the slightest noise. It was at this time I was glad that Batman had given my uniform stealth tech. It was really easy to blend into the shadows around me. I heard a loud rustle as I rounded the corner near the other three. Superboy had been on the opposite side just a moment ago, but I'm assuming he heard the same noise. I kept my eyes focused in the shadows and thought I saw something move. I reacted quick enough to blast it with ice, only to see that it had been a leaf moving in the wind.

Embarrassment hit me extremely hard as I could hear Megan and Artemis trying to stiffle laughter. That didn't stop them in the mind link though.

'What's going on out there?' Robin questioned into the mind link.

'Oh nothing. Just Snowstorm protecting us from a big bad leaf.' I groaned at Artemis' words as I pulled my hood further over my face to cover the blush.

A series of laughs echoed in my head before I heard Kaldur speaking directly to Megan.

'Miss Martian, Dr. Roquette has located the Fog. Reconfigure the bioship so that Robin and Superboy can pursue.'

I saw Megan summon the bioship down and both Robin and Superboy ran by. I could see the smirk on Robin's face directed at me.

'Ready.' She said as the two boarded and took off again.

We all went back to our perimeter duty. I ended up going around the back of the building and glancing through the trees. I rounded a corner again right as Megan and Artemis started bickering about Superboy. I saw a faint shadow again, but I wasn't certain what it was. I didn't want to embarrass myself again so I simply approached where I saw it but found nothing. After another circle I heard a faint clanging noise coming from a window above me. It was the computer lab.

"M'gann, Kid, Artemis. We are under attack in the computer lab." Kaldur said through our link. My eyes grew wide and I inwardly slapped myself for not thinking what I saw was something. I ran around the corner and through the door, already having lost sight of Megan and Artemis. I was the last one into the room and barely saw the assassin pull out a smoke bomb and vanish just as Wally was about to grab her.

"She's getting away! You're letting her get away!" Roquette yelled at us as I could see panic had set in.

"This is all your fault, you were on perimeter! How'd that shadow get in?" Wally yelled at Artemis while my insecurity set in knowing it was my fault.

"That's not really fair. Snowstorm and I were outside too."

"Outside being distracted by her. Besides I can't be mad at you." Wally retorted back.

'You gave me mouth to mouth.' He added mentally.

'We heard that!' Everyone said while Wally barked out Dang it in frustration.

"I didn't do half as well in my first battle, and I know you can't have been Green Arrow's side kick for long." Megan said reassuringly.

I rubbed my arm and cleared my throat.

"It's actually my fault. I thought I saw something, but I wasn't quite sure. I didn't want to make a mistake again." The group was silent for a moment while I could feel eyes on me.

"There is no blame to place in this situation. We must focus everyone. The shadows will be back."

The communicator in our ears chirped and we could hear Robin address Aqualad. They were apparently in Philadelphia, but they were too late to stop the Fog. The STAR labs facility was destroyed and now every bit of information that was there was in the hands of the shadows.

"Rescan for that Fog. Find it. We're moving the doctor."

We split ourselves into two groups. Megan, Artemis and Wally would remain at the computer lab while Kaldur, myself and Dr. Roquette would move to a nearby Internet Cafe to finish the virus. Hopefully they would fall for Megan being the decoy and we would be home free. One the doctor was situated I remained Kaldur left and headed back to the school while I remained keeping watch. I could hear Kaldur scolding Wally and Artemis through the mental link for glaring at each other, but otherwise things were quiet. I listened to the doctor typing away on the computer before she spoke aloud to me.

"So are you new or something? I've never heard of you before." She continued working but was glancing up at me.

"Yeah, I'm pretty new I guess. This is only my second mission with the team. But I've been fighting bad guys for a little while now." I faintly saw Roquette roll her eyes.

"So they left me with a newbie when assassins are trying to kill me? Perfect!"

My frustration with this woman had re-emerged right as Kaldur had snuck back into the cafe.

"They'll have fallen for our ruse."

I nodded to Kaldur as Roquette seemed to work faster. I kept a watch through the windows trying to focus on anything that moved.

"I've almost got it." Roquette spoke up quickly while continuing to type. I could hear Robin in the communicator sound rather panicky. When he mentioned Wayne tech I immediately knew why. They could hack the Batcave if they got that information, we'd be sunk. I faintly heard footsteps on the room and my hands reflexively went up and white Fog was emanating from them.

"We have company." Kaldur said with emphasis toward the doctor.

"Uploading now. And by the way, you said you'd protect me." She said somewhat accusingly.

A smoke bomb bounced on the floor and started covering the room. I faintly heard a tile shift and saw Kaldur turn and get hit with darts in the chest.

"Let's test the limit of your jellyfish immunity, shall we?" The assassin spoke in such a jovial way. It sounded like she was actually enjoying this. I could see Kaldur was affected so I made my move. I blasted ice shards at her but she easily dodged them. She spun around with a kunai stretched out and almost cut me. I had barely ducked in time. Kaldur had moved up and began to slash at her with his water bearers but she was quick dodge. She kicked Kaldur hard and he fell onto his chest, clearly unconscious. It was all up to me now.

"There. Limit tested. Now doctor, time for my appointment." The assassin pulled out another kunai but I slashed at her with an ice blade that formed around my arm.

"Forgetting someone?" I said as she dodged out of the way.

She gave a small chuckle while watching me.

"No. Just didn't think you were worth my time." She quipped back while lunging for me. I blocked her attack and pushed her forward, only to be immediately met with another launch. I could faintly see the computer loading out of the corner of my eye. I just had to hold her off a little longer. Once I pushed her off again I lunged at her only for her to dodge and kick me into a wall. I tried to pull myself to my feet but was failing horribly. I could see the assassin grabbing the doctor's coat, but to my relief it looked like the virus had just completed.

"So, you finished the virus, eliminating the reason for your elimination, though not the entertainment value." I could faintly see the kunai getting closer to the doctor's face before she was shoved down to the ground.

'Lucky for you my orders are clear. You live to program another day. After all doctor, the shadows may find another use for you." I finally managed to get to my feet shakily. I tossed a couple of ice shards again at the assassin but she dodged and threw a smoke bomb in front of me. I couldn't see where she went but I heard an explosion outside. As the smoke cleared I went over to Kaldur who was beginning to regain consciousness. Doctor Roquette and I helped him to his feet before beginning to walk outside. As we walked through the door Artemis was standing alone.

I noticed the assassin's mask on the ground and questions immediately rushed to mind.

"Artemis, where's the assassin?" Kaldur questioned through pants.

"She Uh, she got away." Artemis seemed sad almost. Or really disappointed.

"Oh from you?" Wally asked while running up. "Oh big surprise. Notice, we got ours." Wally happened to glance down at that moment and spotted the mask. "Cool. Souvenir."

"Her mask?" Kaldur questioned while pulling out the darts from his chest. "Did you see her, her face?" With each dart being pulled out he flinched.

"It was dark." Artemis responded almost..defensively. like she was being accused.

"It is fine. Robin and Superboy neutralized the Fog, and Doctor Roquette is safe, thanks in no small part to you. Welcome to the team." Kaldur's words always managed to be reassuring, even when you were truly doubting yourself. Artemis had turned back around to face us and I had a feeling Kaldur's words were the main reason. We all approached Artemis and Kaldur shook her hand.

"Now I have two sisters. Here on Earth I mean. I have twelve sisters back on Mars, but trust me it is not the same." Megan said happily while placing a hand on Artemis' shoulder.

"I wouldn't know. But thanks." Artemis responded somewhat hesitantly.

"I'm glad to be adding someone else to our team. Especially a girl. We need to even the odds a bit." I said with a smile while Artemis gave me a small smile back. Megan than elbowed Wally who gave a prompt ow.

"Yeah. Welcome." He said half-heartedly as Artemis stuck out her hand to shake his. He shook it and right when everything seemed to be done, Robin and Superboy showed up in the bioship and we all headed back to the cave with the exception of doctor Roquette who we dropped off along the way. When we arrived back at the cave it was very late. Probably only a few hours away from dawn. I felt my eyes growing heavy as I wobbled my way over to a seat so I wouldn't fall over. I could feel a bruise on my back from hitting the wall, but otherwise I didn't have any injuries. I ended up almost falling asleep on the counter, but Kaldur had shaken me awake.

"Eira, I believe you should head home and get some sleep. It has been a long night, you need to rest."

I mumbled something incoherent as Robin walked over and helped me to my feet.

"Come on Eira, time to go home."

"Mhm." I mumbled to Robin as we took the zeta tube home. Once we stepped out it was obvious Robin was having a hard time supporting me because of our height difference. I was a good couple inches taller than him, so I was almost just falling on him. Alfred came and helped Robin take me to my room, but not before noticing a blue spot on the back of my neck. I was completely asleep at this point, my legs now dragging on the floor.

Robin P.O.V

"Master Dick, I believe this spot on Miss Eira's neck is the cause of her lethargy." I hadn't noticed the spot until Alfred pointed it out. I should have realized there was something off about how tired she was. Even before she joined the team, she was out late at night and she never seemed this tired. Once we put Eira in bed, I managed to get a small sample of the blue substance and run it through the computer on my wrist.

"A heavy duty sedative. But it looks like it reacted a lot slower than anticipated. Eira's body temperature slowed the effects until she got back to the cave." I spoke only to myself as the analysis continued. I ended up discovering the duration of the sedative. "A 12 hour sedative?!" Why would the assassin use such a heavy duty drug on her? I couldn't stop wondering as I left her room so she could sleep. I would need to look into a few things over the next few days. Something else might be going on, I just need to find out what.


	5. Chapter 5: A Day Off

**I want to apologize so much! My husband had surgery about a month ago and I just haven't been able to update. Now that he's pretty much recovered though I will be posting more frequently again. Also I do apologize for any slight word or grammatical errors. I type everything out on my phone so I can get the word for word stuff from the episode on tv and write at the same time. My phone auto corrects a lot. I also want to thank all of my readers and those of you who follow and favorite this story. It makes me feel wonderful when I see someone new has taken a liking to my story. Also thank you to those who have reviewed!**

Chapter 5

I woke up I don't even know how much later. My head was fuzzy and I was stumbling once I was on my feet. It felt like I had been hit by a truck. I made my way to my bathroom and looked at my reflection. I was still in my uniform, but I looked horrible. My hair was poofed out and knotted and I had dark circles under my eyes.

"What happened?" I mumbled to myself while rubbing my eyes. I couldn't remember much of anything at the moment. The fog in my head just seemed to be blocking everything. I wandered into my room and changed into some normal clothes that were in my closet. Once I was changed I headed down to the kitchen to get something to eat and maybe find out why I was feeling like this. Once I was close to the kitchen I could smell Alfred's cooking. When he finally came into view he glanced in my direction and gave a small smile.

"Good evening miss. I'm glad to see you've finally woken up. Master Bruce and Master Dick seemed quite concerned."

I rubbed the back of my head nervously as I sat down on a stool near the counter.

"Do you know what happened Alfred? I can't remember anything."

"Master Dick brought you home quite late last night. You appeared extremely lethargic. I had noticed a blue substance on the back of your neck. Master Dick determined that it was a sedative of sorts. And quite a strong one I may add. You've been resting for over 12 hours."

My eyes grew large when Alfred told me how long I had been asleep. No wonder I looked so bad. Alfred had placed a plate of food in front of me and I ate quickly. If I had been asleep all day, I wonder what I missed. Once I finished I thanked Alfred and went down to the Batcave. Bruce was sitting at the computer and Dick was hovering over his shoulder. When I was close enough Dick looked up and gave a relieved smile.

"Glad to see you're up. You look a little rough though." He gave a little laugh before he looked back at the computer. I walked over and watched file after file move across the screen as Bruce combed through them. I could only read a few headlines, but they were all saying the same thing. New villain surfaces in Gotham. I made out a few more words here and there. Dramatic temperature changes, Fog and ice. My heart stopped for a second. This headline was referring to someone like me. Someone with my powers. Dick and Bruce noticed my immediate attitude change and shut the articles.

"Dick and I will be investigating these incidents. Until we can discover the source and have it dealt with I think it would be best if you stayed at the cave."

My mind was lost when Bruce was talking. Those articles could only mean a few things. Either I was doing bad things in my sleep, or my mother was here. I never met her, but from the stories I had heard she was a horrible person. She killed for no reason and hurt so many people. Dick placed a hand on my shoulder causing me to snap out of my thoughts.

"Eira, we'll take care of this. Don't worry." I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded numbly. Dick started leading me back to the elevator so we could head back up to my room and grab some things to take with me to the cave. The walk back was silent, my mind racing at a million thoughts a minute. What should I do? What if she finds me? Do I want her in my life? Has she changed at all? Why did she let me go? These questions continued to circle in my mind until Dick had caught my attention by handing me a duffel bag. I started packing some clothes and my uniform and was done surprisingly quickly.

"You got everything?" I nodded silently and followed him back to the Batcave where Bruce had already suited up. Dick took a moment to change before we all went through the zeta tube to the cave. Once we were through everyone came into sight. It looked like they had all been off doing something because they all came from the same direction. Wally immediately lit up with excitement when he saw Batman and ran over.

"Do you have a mission for us?" The excitement was just dripping from his voice.

"No. I have come to inform all of you that due to certain circumstances, Eira will be staying here at the cave until further notice."

Everyone glanced at me and saw the look I had on my face. Worry, fear, and sadness. Everyone nodded and agreed without question while Megan took me to my room. She tried her best to start a conversation, but her attempts failed. I just wasn't really in the mood. At some point Batman and Robin had left to start their investigation. Once I was in my room I collapsed on the bed. Reality had set in and this wasn't a dream. My life had turned around so much in the course of a few weeks, and now someone was trying to tear it down around me. How could Batman expect me to just sit here while they take care of things? How could I possibly distract myself from what was going on?

I found myself laying on the bed for at least another hour before I got up. I left my room and made it to the kitchen. Megan wasn't there so they must have eaten dinner already. I couldn't see Superboy on the couch either. Maybe they had gone to sleep? I walked through the room and came to the zeta tube. Typing in a few things I managed to pull the activity log and saw that Wally had left shortly after I got here. Probably super disappointed we didn't get a mission. I did notice that Kaldur hadn't left the cave yet though.

"Hm. I wonder where he went?" I questioned myself before walking away and wandering the halls. I found my way to the "back door" as Megan liked to call it. I didn't expect to find anyone out here. I was by myself and out in the open. Hopefully I could think straight out here. I sat down on the edge of the cliff and looked down at the waves crashing down below me. The mist from it was drifting up and covering my face. The breaking waves was the only noise I had while I began thinking again. My thoughts started on my mother than gradually changed. I knew a life with her in it was not what I wanted. If she was anything like what I had heard, I didn't want anything to do with her. What was concerning me now was why she decided to surface in Gotham. Batman is notorious for dealing with new criminals to the point where they do not come back. This is a very well known fact. It was bold for anyone to try and come into Gotham like that.

"Eira?"

I jumped at the sudden voice. I had been so deep in thought I didn't hear the door behind me open.

"I apologize if I frightened you. That was not my intent."

I waved it off with a small smile. The surprise, while abrupt, was enough to snap me out of my thoughts.

"No worries Kaldur. I was just really deep in thought. You can join me if you'd like." He seemed to smile slightly and sat down next to me, dangling his feet over the edge like me.

"Why have you come out here?"

"I have a lot to think about. A lot is happening and I just couldn't stand sitting in a room. Fresh air always helped me clear my mind a bit."

"I see. May I ask what it is that is bothering you?"

I paused, thinking of a way to word things at the moment.

"Have you ever wondered what could have happened in your life. If you or someone had made a different decision, what would your life be like?"

Kaldur was quiet, possibly thinking of his own response.

"I think of such things quite often. I have made many decisions within the last few months. Though I was confident in my decisions, the question still lingers of what my life may have been." I was slightly taken aback by Kaldur's words. He was speaking from personal experience in the situation.

"I've been wondering what could have been. It scares me. But thinking about what I have now scares me even more, just because i'm afraid to lose it." I had placed my hands in my lap and was twidling my fingers back and forth as I spoke.

"Unfortunately I can not give you any advice, for I am still plagued with my own decisions." I could feel Kaldur's mood was similar to my own. Saddened and almost...defeated.

"My problems can't be solved quickly...Maybe not even at all. But maybe yours can. If I'm not prying too much, what is something that is bothering you?"

Kaldur was quiet, indecision written on his face. The silence was growing slightly awkward before he spoke again.

"My decision to become Aqualad has recently been plaguing me. I enjoy helping others and working along side my king, but since I have come to the surface, my thoughts are of Atlantis and those I left behind." It was obvious by the look in his eyes that it was one person in particular that was on his mind.

"There's someone you love back in Atlantis?"

Kaldur's face flushed for a moment as he tried to cover it.

"Y-Yes. Her name is Tula. I have thought about her many times since I have been on the surface. I miss her greatly, as well as my best friend Garth."

"What's she like?" I truly felt like Kaldur and I were growing closer as friends. This conversation was something very personal and the fact that Kaldur was sharing it with me made me feel happy.

"She is so full of life and joy. She is intelligent and very gifted with the mystic arts. She ranks very high in classes. She is a remarkable person. Being on the surface has shown me many things that I am grateful for, but every day I wonder how things would have been if I had stayed." It was clear that Kaldur loved Tula. The way he spoke about her and smiled just at the thought made me smile back.

"Your situation doesn't sound so easy, but have you thought about going to Atlantis to visit? Maybe see Tula and Garth. It could help you clear your mind about this."

"I have considered it many times, but I could not leave the team in such a way. I am the leader, and I must stay here to ensure my duty is fulfilled." Kaldur was a remarkable person. Even when his heart is in another world, this mind stayed trained on his current objective. He saw himself as needing to be with the team above his own happiness.

"Well just think about it. Besides, we haven't been getting many missions lately. Maybe a quick trip home could be just around the corner." Kaldur nodded and his smile that had faded, returned.

"Thank you Eira. You have helped ease my mind. I wish there was a way I could help you."

My smile faltered for a moment before returning at full force.

"Kaldur, you've actually helped me more than you think. You helped distract me from my thoughts. You've been a good friend to me and that's all I could ask."

Our conversation ended on that note as I stood up as did Kaldur. We had already been outside for an hour and it was getting later and later. Once we were inside Kaldur said goodbye and went through the zeta tube. I was now by myself again, only this time I was in a much better mood. I wandered the halls a little bit until I walked into the garage to see Superboy and Megan talking near a motorcycle.

"Hi guys." I said while walking over to them. Superboy turned to me barely while Megan smiled.

"Hi Eira, what are you up to?" Megan seemed extra happy, maybe because my mood had changed.

"Not much. I was looking for something to do, but I'm not having much luck." I rubbed the back of my neck with a slightly nervous smile.

"Maybe we could go watch a movie?" Megan suggested while beginning to ramble off all the movies that were out.

"A movie sounds great. I'm not really picky so you two could pick one." Superboy didn't really care what we saw as long as it wasn't a romantic movie. We ended up agreeing on an action movie and headed down to Happy Harbor. It took us a few minutes to get down there and find the movie theatre. Once we were inside and in our seats we quietly watched the movie begin.

The movie was about two hours and when we left it was well after 9 at night. I could see Megan yawning even though she was trying really hard to hide it.

"We should head back. You two should probably get some sleep." Megan looked at me and shook her head.

"I'm not tired. I'm still up for doing more stuff." She bounced a little bit and smacked her cheeks trying to prove she was perfectly fine.

Superboy smiled and let out a chuckle at Megan's antics.

"Don't lie. You're about ready to fall over." Megan glared at him before we all decided to head back up to the cave after getting some food. Once we were back Megan went off to her room and Superboy went to turn on the tv. I hovered a little ways away and glanced at Superboy.

"Aren't you tired too?" Superboy asked without looking over at me.

"Not really. Apparently I slept for over 12 hours after our last mission. I'm kind of hunting for things to do until I start feeling tired. Can I watch TV with you?" Superboy shrugged and I took that as a yes. I sat on the couch and looked at the tv. He was watching the news. I could faintly see headlines moving along the bottom of the screen. One caught my eye as it flew by. 'Batman and Robin defeat Scarecrow.' I kind of wish I could be out there with them. Being stuck here without something like a mission was grating on my nerves a little bit.

"When did Batman take you in?" Superboy asked out of the blue. I looked at him a little confused and thought about it.

"Right before I joined the team. I had been fighting crime in Gotham for a few weeks on my own and he took notice. He did a little digging and found out my living situation. I guess he saw potential in me so he took me in."

Superboy nodded but seemed in thought for a moment. "What was your living situation?"

I didn't answer immediately. It wasn't a reluctance to talk about my life growing up, it was more about never having someone ask before.

"I'm an orphan. I was living at the Gotham City orphanage. Just waiting for someone to adopt me, but I was always told that no one would."

"Really? I would have never guessed." Superboy seemed legitimately surprised by my life before the team and Batman. Not all of us came from a nice life. In fact, a lot of the team had pretty troubled pasts.

"Yeah. I play it off pretty well. So Superboy, what's your story? I haven't heard anything really about you."

Superboy's face moved to a frown as he clenched his fists slightly.

"You don't need to tell me if you don't want to. You can tell me when you're ready." I visibly saw Superboy relax a bit as he sighed.

"I'm Superman's clone. Cadmus created me and Wally, Robin and Kaldur found me and set me free." My mouth hung open a little bit at what Superboy told me. He was a clone? I would have never guessed.

"Will you quit staring like that?" He said sounding frustrated right before I closed my mouth.

"I never would have guessed you were a clone. Because when I look at you I don't see Superman at all. I see a different person. I see Superboy. The perpetually grumpy teammate." I let out a laugh as I gently punched him in the arm. I could see a smile on his lips even though he turned his face away from me.

"Thanks. Not many people see me the same way." I shook my head just thinking about it.

"That's where people have others so wrong. They judge you on the people you are supposed to be like or expected to be like. They don't try to know the real you. They see you as not even a person, just another problem. I think you and I may have more in common than you think."

Superboy nodded before standing up and ruffling the hair on my head.

"I'm going to bed. See you in the morning." He walked off leaving me there with a nest of hair sitting on top of my head.

"I'm having a lot of heart to hearts today. Weird." I said to myself while flipping through the channels on the tv. As I stumbled across a classical movie channel I slowly started dozing off. The old music and black and white picture were like a bed time story. They lulled me to sleep.

Robin's POV

I stared up at the computer in front of me and Batman. Pictures of a woman spread across the screen and the headlines from before spread out behind it. The woman looked like an older version of Eira, except the scars on her cheek and her eyes were red.

"She looks like her. But we can't be sure." Batman said while typing. The woman's picture was shrunk and another screen appeared with a video playing.

The video was surveillance from the evening of the team's last mission. The woman was speaking with a masked woman that they came to know as Cheshire. The woman and Cheshire were discussing something, but were too far away from the camera to pick up any sound. The woman placed a small blue pellet in Cheshire's hand and an agreement seemed to be reached before they parted ways.

"It seems this woman is employing the League of Shadows for something." Batman said before closing the video and opening another.

"That must have been the sedative that was used on Eira, but when did Cheshire get close enough to administer it?" I questioned while Batman seemed to be searching for something. The video feed playing now was from inside the Internet café that Kaldur, Eira and Doctor Roquette had been at. It showed the fight that ensued and right when Eira was kicked to the wall, Cheshire moved her arm like she was throwing something.

"That must be when Cheshire drugged her." I stated while staring more. But why would the woman want to drug Eira? Why did she employ the League of Shadows? Maybe because she knew she couldn't get close enough to Eira to do it herself?

"Whoever this woman is, she is showing an interest in Eira. We need to continue to monitor her and her movements until we can be certain who she is and what she could want." I nodded to Batman before heading to my room. It strangely felt empty knowing Eira wasn't there. I would have never guessed that for only being here for such a short time, she could make such a difference. She was truly safer at the cave though. I just hope she is handling everything alright.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It had been about a week now and there were still no missions. I was getting antsy in the cave and I think everyone could tell. Robin hadn't stopped by since I came to live at Mount Justice and I was wondering how much research he was going to be doing. As I paced around the kitchen I could feel Megan watching me. She had been trying to get me to relax a little bit, but to no avail. I was on my 10th pass of Megan when I heard the zeta tube spring to life. Kaldur, Wally, and Artemis materialized through separate zeta tubes at the same time. I saw Superboy standing over near the training simulator and remembered that today was sparring day. I was so happy with something to do I practically bounced over to the simulator. Training began with Superboy and Kaldur. They charged at one another quickly. Superboy threw the first punch, but Kaldur easily ducked under. They threw punches and kicks at one another, testing acrobatic skills as well. I was standing on the sidelines with Megan and Artemis when I began to hear the two talking.

"Kaldur's uh, nice. Don't you think? Handsome, commanding, you should totally ask him out." Artemis was clearly directing her comment at Megan. I shifted awkwardly since I knew this conversation was for the two of them and I didn't want to eavesdrop.

"He's like a big brother to me, but you know who would make the cutest couple? You and Wally!" Right as Megan said that, Wally took a huge bite of his burrito making a very obnoxious noise. Thankfully he was far enough away to not hear the conversation.

"You're so full of passion and he's so full of..ooof.."

"It?" Artemis finished and the two shared a laugh. It was really difficult not to start laughing with them.

"What do you think Eira?" Megan asked while facing me. I stared for a moment while glancing at the two. "I'm not sure. I'm not very good at matchmaker." Megan and Artemis smiled and we all shared another laugh, but together this time.

Right as our little giggle fest ended I caught Superboy tossing Kaldur across the floor. I heard the simulator say Kaldur failed as Superboy brushed his hands together.

"Black Canary taught me that." He seemed so proud and actually kind of happy. Red Tornado appeared through the ceiling as Superboy helped Kaldur up. Immediately Wally ran over and began to ask if he had a mission for us.

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility." He replied back in that monotone voice of his.

"Yeah, well the Batman is with the Robin doing the dynamic duo thing in Gotham. But you're heading somewhere right? Hot date? Or Uh a mission?"

"If we can be of help." Kaldur added. I visibly saddened at Wally's mention of Robin not being here. I missed all of us going on a mission and I was getting tired of staying at the cave. I saw Red Tornado turn and pull up the computer showing us a picture of an older man.

"This is Kent Nelson, a friend. He is 106 years old." I was visibly surprised at his age.

I heard Wally mumbled something to Artemis as Megan walked up next to him.

"And he has been missing for 23 days. Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society. The precursor to your mentors Justice League."

Kaldur stood with his arms crossed and seemed to be the first to understand as the picture changed to someone in gold armor. His tone held a hint of surprise with his understanding.

"Of course. Nelson was Earth's sorcerer supreme. He was Doctor Fate!"

I heard Wally scoff before he whispered something else to Artemis. It was obvious he didn't believe in magic. Red Tornado turned and faced us before he continued to speak.

"Kent may simply be on one of his...walkabouts. but he is caretaker to the helmet of fate. The source of the doctor's mystic might and it is unwise to leave such power unguarded."

Megan seemed to be truly in awe at what was being said.

"He's like the great socerer priests and priestess' of Mars. I would be honored to help find him."

I saw Wally's hand shoot up in the air faster than I could blink.

"Me too! Sooooo honored I could barely stand it. Magic rocks."

Wally raised his hand and had his fingers in the rock-and-roll sign. I could see Artemis was slightly irritated and I just rolled my eyes at Wally for his needless attempts to impress Megan. It was getting pretty old pretty fast.

"Take this. It is the key to the Tower of Fate." Kaldur grabbed the key from Red Tornado while Wally spoke to Megan about the "coincidence" that they both admired the mystic arts. I had to try really hard not to scoff at him. We made our way to the bioship and strapped in. I took my seat in between Kaldur and Superboy and glanced over to where Robin normally sat. I held back a sigh as we took off, but chased away my feelings remembering we had an actual mission. For the most part, the flight to the Tower of Fate didn't take too long, but the whole way there Wally was still trying to impress Megan. It would have started grating on my nerves if not for the fact that Artemis and I seemed to share the same idea. When we landed at the coordinates Red Tornado gave us, there was nothing there. We exited the bioship and I glanced around. Wally took off to do a sweep of the perimeter and came back in just a matter of seconds.

"Nothing. This isn't simple camouflage." Wally said while standing in front of Artemis.

"So what do you think? Adaptive micro-opto electronics combined with phase shifting?"

My head spun briefly from what Artemis just said, but it seemed like Wally had just realized how awesome Artemis was.

"Absolutely...not! Clearly the mystic powers are at work here." Right as he changed his tone Megan had walked up. This garnered an eye roll from me, but I kept my displeasure to myself.

I paced in the field in front of us before walking forward slightly and bumping into something hard.

"Ow." I said while rubbing my nose. I placed my hand on the invisible wall before me and stared at it rather confused.

"A test of faith.." I heard Kaldur mumbled behind me as I looked back at him. "Stand behind me." Kaldur added as I took a few steps back. I saw Kaldur reach out with the key and turn it in an invisible lock. Suddenly a giant tower appeared and I stared in awe.

"Woah. That's pretty impressive." I said while staring up. Kaldur slowly pushed the door open and we all walked in. It was rather creepy though when the door shut behind us on its own and disappeared.

"Uh where'd the door go?" Superboy asked sounding slightly unnerved. A brief second later a glowing hologram of Mr. Nelson appeared in front of us.

"Greetings, you have entered with a key, but the tower does not recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent." Before anyone could speak up Wally stepped forward and in his grand voice tried to impress Megan again.

"We are true believers, here to find Doctor Fate." I saw a sad look come across the holograms face right before it disappeared. Suddenly the floor began to shake and crumble under us. We all let out cries as we began to plummet towards a pit of lava. I tried to think fast so I made an ice spear and jammed it in the wall. Causing myself to stop not too far above Superboy. I could feel the heat radiating from the lava and I broke out in an instant sweat. I could feel my control over my ice spear wavering as it disappeared and I fell once again with a scream. Superboy barely caught me, but at the loss of his completely foothold which caused his feet to slip in the lava and his shoes to burn away. He swung me onto his back and I held on with all my strength. I could tell the lava really hurt him as I looked at his ankles.

"Those were my favorite boots. This Nelson guy better be worth it." I heard Superboy grumble.

"Are your feet okay?" I barely managed to get out through gasps of breath. I never did very well in heat. Ever since I got my powers, I couldn't stand heat as much anymore. It weakened me so much.

"They're fine." he grumbled back while pulling the two of us up higher. "What about you?"

"I'm...not feeling too good." I admitted while looking up at everyone else. It was clear Megan and Kaldur were both suffering as much as me.

"Having trouble...maintaining altitude. I'my so hot." Megan said while rubbing sweat off her forehead.

"You certainly are." Wally said with her arm wrapped around him to help keep him airborne.

"Wally!" Artemis yelled out in frustration. I would have done the same, but it was just too hot for this.

"Hey! Inches above sizzling death, I'm entitled to speak my mind!"

I saw Kaldur wipe his forehead as well as him and Artemis clung to the wall with one of her tools.

"My physiology as well as M'gann and Eira's are susceptible to extreme heat. We must climb out quickly."

As Wally and Megan got closer and closer I could see Megan bump her forehead.

"Hello Megan, we never truly answered the question. Red Tornado sent us, to see if Mr. Nelson and the helmet are safe!" Megan called up to the the open hold above us right as my grip was beginning to slip. The floor immediately was covered by stone and my grip failed. I collapsed on the ground panting heavily while Superboy helped me up. I heard Wally hit the ground next to me, but I was not about to care. It was his fault we almost got roasted alive.

"Thanks Superboy. I'll buy you a replacement pair of boots when we get back." He smiled at me before releasing my arm when I knew I was strong enough to stand on my own.

"This platform. It should be red hot, but it is cool to the touch." Kaldur knelt down and placed his hand on the brick floor.

"Don't worry Megalicious, I gotcha." Wally said as he wrapped an arm around Megan's shoulder.

"Enough!" I heard Artemis yelled as she pushed Wally away from Megan. "Your little impress Megan at all costs game nearly got us all barbequed!"

"When did this become my fault?" Wally questioned sounding rather insulted.

"When you lied to that, whatever it was, and called yourself a true believer." I kept my distance but I was equally as mad at Wally.

"Wally, you don't believe?" I could hear it in Megan's voice that she was disappointed. Maybe not at the fact that he didn't believe, but more so that he lied about it.

"Fine! Fine, I lied about believing in magic. But magic is the real lie. A major load!" Wally crossed his arms pouted before Kaldur spoke up.

"Wally, I studied for a year at the conservatory of sorcery in Atlantis. The mystic arts created the skin icons that power my water bearers." I was a little surprised to find out that what Kaldur could do was actually powered by magic.

"Dude, have you ever heard of bioelectricity? Hey, in primitive cultures fire was once considered magical too. Today it's all just a bunch of tricks."

"You're pretty closed minded for someone who can break the sound barrier in his sneakers." Artemis retorted while I was finally sick of the arguing. I knelt down by Kaldur who seemed to be searching for something on the floor. I began to feel around while tuning about whatever was being said behind me until I felt a small leak of cold air coming through a very small crack. Kaldur noticed as well and glanced up to Wally.

"Let us test that theory." He said while finding the handle for the trap door and beginning to pull it open. Wally panicked for a brief moment, saying something about the back draft roasting us alive. As the trap door opened a breeze of cold air and snowflakes entered and a smile crossed my face. I had never been so happy to see snow.

"It's snow!" Megan said happily while running her hand through the air.

"Do you ever get tired of being wrong?" Artemis asked Wally with a smile on her face. We all jumped through the trap door and we're tossed out into a snowy terrain. I walked ahead of the others slightly just enjoying the cold air. I loved the sound of the snow crunching under my feet and the crispness of the air. The portal had disappeared and everyone was now staring at Wally.

"Well?" Artemis said rather irritably.

"Ever hear of string theory? We're in a pocket dimension." He said it so matter of factly that I heard Artemis make a noise of exasperation. The discussion seemed to be done as everyone turned around to face the snowy landscape.

"What's that?" Megan asked while pointing at a staff floating off the ground. I maintained my distance from it, unsure of what it could do.

"Ooo maybe it's Nelson's magic wand." Wally said with fake enthusiasm. I watched Artemis beginning to walk over to it just as Wally sprinted. They both grabbed it at the same and seemed to be stuck.

"I got it." They said in unison. "I can't let go!" Before anything else could be said the staff shot up into the air with them still holding on and disappeared into a flash of light.

"What do we do now?" I questioned while glancing at the others. We soon came to an agreement to keep pressing forward to hopefully find an exit, so we set off into the snow.

"I don't understand Wally. It's almost like he needs to believe the impossible can't happen." Megan spoke as the wind spun around us casting light flecks of snow in the air again.

"Wally uses his understanding of science to control what he cannot comprehend. Acknowledging the existence of magic would be to relinquish that last vestige of control." I saw Megan glance down after Kaldur answered her and I guess I could see his point. From what I gathered Wally was a concrete science person. He had an explanation for almost everything. A quiet sound caught our attention as a door and stairs appeared to our left. We all glanced at one another briefly before taking our chance and going through the door. We found ourselves falling through the door and coming out in a room with a bunch of strange stairs and a large bell. Thankfully Megan caught me as we were falling so I didn't hit the ground with Kaldur and Superboy. We were immediately greeted by Artemis running toward us.

"Friend's of yours?" I heard Mr. Kent ask before he and Wally ducked a blast of lightning.

"Friend's of your's?!" Wally retorted back as the rest of us dodged the blast as well.

As I continued to dodge the lightning blast I heard a loud ringing as I glanced toward Wally. Him and Mr. Kent went through the glowing bell and I stared for just a brief second in awe. I was quickly brought back to my senses though as I was blasted in the chest with lightning. I let out an involuntary grunt of pain as I twitched slightly on the ground. I could feel the electricity surging through me before it gradually faded. Artemis was the first to help me up and help me dodge another shot. My legs felt like jell-o for a minute but I got over it quickly. I thanked Artemis quickly before I started to move on the offense. I was through ice spears at Abra Kadabra but he would simply side step out of the way. Artemis took her shots but with a wave of his wand her arrows were destroyed. This battle wasn't going anywhere and we weren't going to win like this. One by one we all began to crumble under the electricity being shot at us. Kaldur and Superboy were the first two to be trapped under the electric cage, but Artemis, myself and Megan followed quickly after. I couldn't hold back my screams of pain as the electricity constantly surged through me. I was forced to hunch over on the ground and deal with the pain. I could hear the others yelling in pain as well. I could see black forming at the edge of my vision, signalling that I was close to losing conciousness. Right before the darkness consumed me I felt the pain lift instantly and I could stand again. I looked at Abra Kadabra and he was in nothing but his underwear.

"Shows over." Superboy said after everyone stood. He placed a strong punch into Abrams face and knocked him unconcious. With our mission now over we found Wally and heard about Mr. Nelson's passing. It was a sad moment thinking that we couldn't save him. Even if the mission was deemed a success I felt like it was more of a failure. I could see that Wally was obviously upset about it as well, but it was pretty clear he didn't feel like talking. The flight back to Mount Justice was quick and once we were home again I made my way to the living room. It was quiet throughout the cave as everyone went home for the evening. I heard everyone's good byes from the couch.

I was flipping through the channels alone until Superboy joined me to watch tv. We sat quietly just watching before I glanced at Superboy's burnt pants.

"So are you going to need new pants as well as boots?"

Superboy glanced my way and a small smile crossed his face.

"Probably. I think you owe me anyway."

I smiled back and gave a little laugh before looking back at the tv again.

"Thanks again for saving me. I really owe you."

Superboy just seemed to wave his hand in the air, just dismissing it.

"It's what heroes do right?" I nodded before we were completely engulfed in a show. Who knew that really good shows played this late at night. It wasn't long before Superboy eventually went to bed, leaving me to myself on the couch. The room was dark other than the light from our giant screen, and overall pretty quiet. However I could heard the faint sounds of Red Tornado moving around in his "apartment". He kept to himself mostly, which was nice. Sometimes he would ask if I was feeling healthy or tired. He always looked out for the team in his own small way. Maybe not with missions, but monitoring our health. I eventually got up front he couch and walked over toward the zeta tubes, staring at the console and wanting to lock in the Batcave coordinates. I even got as far as reaching to type them in, but I stopped. I knew I was staying here for good reasons. I couldn't just dismiss those reasons just because I wanted to go home. With a heavy sigh I glanced at the time and slowly made my way to my room, only to be greeted by the embrace of sleep.


	7. Chapter 7: Downtime

_**Thank you so much to all my readers! I've had writing fever lately and I've been dying to upload another chapter. So here it is and I hope you all enjoy! Please leave a review. I am interested to hear any ideas you all may have about some filler chapters. I never realized how many episodes would need filler simply because the majority of scenes revolve around other characters. Please let me know. I look forward to hear from you!**_

Chapter 7: Downtime

Over the course of the next week I reorganized my room over and over again. I still hardly saw Batman or Robin and missions were scarce. Everyone came and went from the cave at random times and I just found myself walking aimlessly around most of my free time. Finally we got a mission, and to my pure joy, everyone was going. Robin met us in Gotham when we all zeta tubed there and we headed to the warehouse that Batman designated. On the way there I hung next to Robin with a smile plastered on my face. He snickered a little as he noticed my face.

"You're that happy I'm on the mission?"

"Well duh. I've barely seen you for over a week. I miss having you around."

Robin's smile faded slightly, feeling a little guilty that he hasn't been able to spend any time with Eira or the team.

"Batman pulled me off the recon with him after tonight. So I'll be able to visit more. But Batman still thinks it's safer for you at the cave."

I sighed quietly but nodded in understanding.

"I understand. He's just looking out for me."

Our conversation ended at that as we arrived at the warehouse. It was eerily quiet for this area of Gotham. Robin glanced toward Aqualad before speaking.

"We've reached the coordinates Batman gave us. But things seems a little too quiet around here."

There was silence as Aqualad seemed to be staring off into space. It was very odd for Aqualad to be distracted, especially on a mission.

"Aqualad?"

Aqualad seemed to be startled out of his thoughts as he glanced toward Robin.

"I am sorry. I was deep in thought. Have we reached the coordinates."

Robin nodded before we all went over the game plan. We knew that we were going to be dealing with Clayface, but we weren't familiar with what he could do.

We entered the warehouse cautiously and noticed that it was extremely difficult to see. I squinted in the dark trying to see anything, but I only managed to make out the rough shape of some crates and barrels. The windowed ceiling gave little assistance as I faintly heard heavy footfalls. My body tensed as we all fell into a defensive fighting stance. We separated slightly to give each other room before I heard a grunt and yell. Superboy went flying by me covered in some kind of sludge. He got back to his feet and charged into the dark that he had came from. I faintly saw the outline of something huge in the shadows and aimed an ice shard at it. I listened and didn't hear a noise until the moving sound again caught my attention. Something flew through the air and smacked me square in the chest, sending me flying into a wall. I gasped at the impact, the wind being knocked out of me completely. My vision darkened for just a moment before I found my bearings again and stood.

I could hear the others fighting and I sprang toward the voices, ice blades encasing both of my hands. When I finally got close enough to see Clayface I had a slightly disgusted look on my face at what I was seeing. The sludge was muddy and his stench was repulsive. He smelled like sewage and trash. I cringed just thinking about how I was covered in it. I ran up and took a swing, my blade embedding in the muck to my surprise. Clayface let out a chuckle as he grabbed me and lifted me off the ground. I struggled while the sludge slowly covered my arm, hoping one of the others would free me. I looked to the side seeing everyone except Kaldur sprawled out on the ground covered in the same sludge. Kaldur charged in an attempt to free me, but was smacked back and slammed into a metal door. Clayface let out a gut wrenching laugh as he chucked me at the wall next to Kaldur. I felt the impact and knew I left a dent. I was barely clinging to consciousness when I saw Batman break through the glass ceiling and Clayface exploded.

Knowing the fight was over my body relaxed and was immediately overwhelmed by the beating I took. I grit my teeth in pain as I pushed myself into a sitting position. The others took a few minutes to come around and one by one we all stood. It was clear Batman was not happy with us.

No one said anything as we headed back to the cave. It was a heavy silence, knowing very well that we performed poorly on the mission. As we entered the cave Batman turned stop a few feet ahead and turned to us.

"I need to talk with Aqualad. The rest of you hit the showers and head home."

"Home? I am home." Superboy said as we marched passed Batman. I glanced back at Aqualad before walking out of sight. Megan and I both headed to the showers to clean up then parted ways in the living room. I sat on the couch and slouched down, noticing that everyone had pretty much left. I still faintly heard Batman talking, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. After a few minutes I spotted Batman heading toward the zeta tubes and waved good bye to him. He paused before walking over with a careful gaze.

"How are you feeling?" His voice still in that deep tone he used as Batman, but his tone had shifted more toward concerned.

"I'm fine. Just a couple bruises. No biggie."

He nodded before a half smile crossed his face. He ruffled my hair slightly and left for the evening. It was another few minutes before I spotted Kaldur with a saddened expression on his face. He looked extremely lost in thought and was walking blindly.

"Kaldur? Are you alright?"

Kaldur paused and glanced my way before shaking his head.

"I'm here if you want to talk about it."

Kaldur smiled slightly and took a seat next to me.

"Batman believes I am distracted. That I am the reason our mission failed. And I cannot find any flaw in his logic. I have been lost in thoughts more often than usual."

"Are you thinking about Atlantis and Tula?"

Kaldur gave a small nod while glancing at my face.

"He has told me that I must make my decision soon."

"So then you're going to Atlantis?"

Kaldur nodded briefly before I continued.

"I think this will be a good thing Kaldur. You need to figure out what truly makes you happy. That's what's important. And for what it's worth, I hope things work out with Tula."

Kaldur gave a genuine smile before standing up.

"Thank you Eira. Your words over the passed few days have been reassuring. I appreciate what you have done."

I couldn't help but smile up at Kaldur.

"It's no biggie. It's what friend's."

Kaldur's smile remained as he bid me good night and left. After our conversation though, I found myself unable to sleep. I walked around the cave for hours until I felt some drowsiness kicking in. Once I was in bed and nestled into my pillow, I felt myself drift into a dreamless sleep.

When I woke up the next morning I was greeted by a knock on my door. As I groggily got up and opened my door I was greeted by Robin smiling at me.

"What are you doing here so early?" I was barely coherent since I had gone to sleep late.

"There aren't any missions today so I figured we could go do something since we haven't been able to hang out much."

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and nodded before shutting the door and going to my closet. I picked out the most inconspicuous outfit I could find which was a pair of jeans, a black tank top and a black hoodie. When I emerged from my room I was pulling my messy hair into a ponytail.

"I don't have to wear anything nice do I?"

Robin laughed before shaking his head and walking toward the zeta tube.

Once we were in Gotham and walking get for a little while I noticed a large building we were walking towards. I knew almost all of Gotham, but this building, I had never been to. When I spotted the giant letters that spelled out Gotham City Aquarium my smile was beaming.

"I've never been to the aquarium before!" The excitement was just dripping from my voice as we paid our way in. The first exhibit was for reptiles like crocodiles and aquatic snakes. It soon morphed into the large underwater scenes that I truly wanted to see. Fish that were bigger than my head swam by effortlessly in all sorts of colors. Their scales shimmered in the special lights that shone on the glass.

"So what's your favorite type of fish?"

I glanced back at Dick with a huge grin plastered on my face.

"I love whale sharks and zebra sharks. I read about them in a few books when I was younger."

"Mine are Tiger sharks."

We talked for the rest of the aquarium and there was even a touch tank. I got to touch a starfish and hermit crab! By the time we finished up the aquarium it was early afternoon and we were both a little hungry. We went to a nearby burger place and ate a ridiculous amount of food.

"So what are going to do after this?"

"I'll probably go back home and train for a little bit. I need to blow off some steam."

"Something bothering you?"

Dick seemed to pause, but shook his head.

"It's nothing you need to worry about. Just some personal frustration."

I didn't believe him, but I let it go because he obviously didn't want to talk about it. After we finished eating I decided to let Dick go home so he could train. I could probably go and spar with the simulator at the cave.

Once I went to the zeta tube and arrived back in the cave, I found myself going to exactly where I planned. I activated the training simulator and powered up an enemy. I practiced for about an hour without any real progress. I was just killing time at this point. Once I was bored, I cut the simulation and walked over to the couch. Superboy had been sitting here earlier, but it looked like he had left at some point. I flipped through the channels and stopped on a news channel. It was broadcasting a report on criminal activity in Gotham. It was the exact same reports from over a week ago. Mysterious fog, ice and even snow. The local movie theater was destroyed and that was being blamed on this ice themed villain, but the news recognized it wasn't Mr. Freeze or any known ice villain.

"She's still around..." I mumbled to myself as a frown set on my face. My mind ran through a bunch of scenarios then. What would she do if she found me? I visualized her trying to freeze me. A shiver ran up my spine as I glanced back at the news report. When they panned out to an aerial view I spotted something I hadn't seen. I made my breath hitch in my throat and my heart race. It was passed quickly as I don't think the cameraman really noticed it. A large chunk of ice was on the side of the building, and it had an address carved into it. It only took me a matter of seconds to recognize the address of the orphanage.

"S-She wouldn't." I stuttered out while standing up and running to the zeta tubes. I punched in the coordinates for the Batcave and left.

When I came through I was surprised not to find Bruce or Dick down there. I suddenly remembered that Dick said he was going to train. Maybe Bruce was going to train with him? I quickly went up to the Batcave and randomly started searching through files until I found what I was looking for. The file popped open with all the previous pictures from a week earlier and I looked through them. In every picture I could faintly make out addresses. Each one corresponding to a place in Gotham I regularly visited. She was hunting for me, and this last attempt was her most blatant one.

My hands began to shake as I closed all the files. Should I tell Bruce? Or Dick? I hesitated taking my phone out to call either of them. They had been trying for a while to catch her, even with all the clues. She must have realized that they were on to her. This time though, I had a sinking feeling that neither had seen the news. I growled in frustration before making sure my uniform was in order and leaving the cave. It was a good couple of minutes before I arrived at the orphanage. It was still light out, so I tried to stick to rooftops and remain out of sight. Once I made it to the orphanage I scoped out the area. Everything seemed normal, but I knew that wouldn't last. I soon saw the tell tale fog beginning to fill the street below. I slipped into the alleyway and made sure my hood was blocking my face. I heard a quiet laugh that began to grow louder and louder.

"Come out and see me my little snowflake. Mother has missed you so much." Her voice was eerie and held a dark tone to it.

I remained silent as I reached the end of the alleyway. The fog was completely covering the street and there seemed to be nothing but silence coming from the city itself.

"I know you've come. After all, I knew you wouldn't be able to ignore this place. You did call it home for some time. This is no way to treat your mother."

I clenched my fists and controlled my breathing and shaking. My own fog soon began to cross the ground and mingle with hers. I watched as the white fought to overtake the air, billowing over the other. I heard her giggle at my fog and her footfalls grew closer.

"There you are sweetheart. Hiding from me? I'm so hurt."

I heard her just barely around the corner so I made my move. I launched out of my cover and shot ice shards in her direction. My blue eyes met her red ones and I saw the grin on her face.

"Well well, that was quite dangerous. You could have really hurt me. We will need to sort that out first."

"Why are you here?!" I demanded in the most imposing voice I could muster.

"Why, to be reunited with my beloved daughter."

"If you wanted to have me in your life you would have come back for me sooner."

"Well you see my little snowflake, things were very different back then. You were useless to me. Now that you're older and your powers are more developed, you could be of use."

I lost my composure for just a moment, my anger getting the best of me.

"I'm not some tool for you to use as you see fit!" I fired more ice shards and a gust of icy air began to circle around us. My mother made no move to fight back, she simply stepped out of the way of the shards and grinned at the now growing blizzard.

"You surely have progressed. Much farther than I anticipated. So for that fact, I wish to extend a proposal to you. Join me. We could be the best mother-daughter team this city has ever seen.

"I'll never join you!" My anger was getting further and further out of control. The snow that had been in the forming blizzard was now turning to icicles. I watched a few graze my mother's arms and she let out a sickening laugh.

"Temper Temper. You really must get that under control." With a wave of her hand the blizzard began to dissipate and her own exploded covering the surrounding buildings in a thick layer of ice. It was such a powerful blast that I was knocked back half a block.

"Remember my offer dear. I'll be waiting."

With those final words she seemed to disappear as her fog enveloped her and the ice that had blasted the street melted. I pulled myself to my shaky feet and let out a sigh. My whole body began to shake involuntarily. I could faintly hear the noises from the city coming back to my ears. I managed to stumble back into the alley I had been hiding in and collapsed to my knees. I wrapped my arms around myself to stop the shaking, but nothing helped. I could hear the faintest of noises coming from my pocket and realized my cell phone was ringing. I clumsily pulled it out and stared at the caller id.

"Hello?" I said quietly into the phone only to hear a sigh of relief come from the other end.

"Finally! I've been trying to get a hold of you! Where are you? Are you okay?" Dick sounded so worried that the guilt set in right away.

"I'm fine. I just needed to get out of the cave some more and I kind of missed Gotham. I just got out of a movie." My lie was a pathetic one and I knew he would see through it in an instant, but I just couldn't talk about everything right now. I heard him pause on the other end, probably doubting my lie that very second.

"Okay, well come back home. Gotham isn't safe for you right now."

"I'm on my way." I quickly hung up before pulling myself back up to my shaky feet. I used the wall to brace myself until I got my full bearings again. I probably stood there for twenty minutes before I got moving.

When I arrived back at the Batcave I was relieved to see that Bruce wasn't home to scold me. Dick was the only one there. It was also a good thing that I had enough sense to stop by my room and change into normal clothes.

I at least had to try and make the lie seem believable. When he noticed me he smiled slightly and looked back at the computer.

"What're you doing?" I saw him clicking through some files and folders.

"Just doing a little research. The Batcave registered an extreme drop in temperature just a little bit ago, but it wasn't like any temperature readings we've ever seen. I'm trying to pull any kind of footage, but every camera in the area was blocked by fog. We couldn't make out anything. Bruce went to go investigate."

Inwardly I gave a sigh of relief, glad that the cameras hadn't seen anything.

"I guess I dodged a scolding there. I should probably get back to the cave before he gets back. At least there he won't scold me in front of everyone else."

Dick chuckled slightly before he waves bye to me and I went through the zeta tubes. When I came back out I was greeted by and empty room. Megan and Superboy must have been off doing something. I spend the next few hours just flipping through the channels until I heard the zeta come to life. I glanced over and saw a stoic Batman walk in. I shrunk down as he looked at me and it was clear I was in trouble.

"Eira, we will discuss what happened later. For now I need you to go suit up and get the others."

I nodded to Batman's request and quickly changed then found Megan and Superboy. To my surprise Robin, Kid Flash and Artemis had come into the cave at some point and were all just hanging out in the hangar.

"Hey guys, I think there's a mission. Batman wants us to suit up and meet back near the zeta tube." Everyone perked up and went off to change before the impending mission. I found my way back and noticed Kaldur walking through the zeta tubes. He had a determined look on his face, but there was something else behind it. I could see a tinge of sadness being easily concealed.

"Made your decision?" Batman questioned while glancing to Kaldur.

"The decision is made. I am here. One hundred percent."

"Just in time for your next mission." The others soon arrived and the briefing began.

"The Watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Bialian Desert." A map materialized behind Batman as he continued.

"Spectral analysis revealed elements non-terrestrial in origin. Find out what happened at that site, what landed there. Bialya is a rogue states ruled by Queen Bee and not a member of the U.N. charter. All communications are subject to interception. Maintain radio silence at all times. You'll land in Kourak, on Bialya's border, two clicks from the hot zone." We all nodded and Kaldur received the coordinates.

"Coordinates received." Batman nodded before we were all dismissed to the bioship. I lagged behind slightly with Kaldur as everyone ran ahead.

"So how did things go in Atlantis?" I noticed Kaldur paused before he spoke.

"Tula is with another. I am happy for them though. They are a good match for one another."

"I'm sorry to hear that Kaldur, but I'm happy to see you taking it so well. There are plenty of girl's in the world. I'm sure you'll find one that steals your heart away and vice versa."

Kaldur smiled at me as we boarded the bioship and took our seats. As I sat down, i felt my stomach get butterflies. I could t tell if it was because we were all on a mission together again, or if it was just a reaction to talking with Kaldur.

'Snap out of it.' I snapped inwardly. 'These thoughts shouldn't even be in my mind.' I slouched slightly, feeling frustrated now because I couldn't control the feeling.

" Activate stealth tech and set up a link for us M'gann."

Those of us who had stealth tech activated it and Megan set up the mind link. The mission was going to be a dangerous one. A lot more dangerous than any of us realized.


	8. Chapter 8: Memories

_**Once again I would like to thank all my readers, you all keep me writing more and more. It came to my attention that I end a lot of my chapters the same way. So I'm going to try my best to make sure I change things up a little bit. Once again I am still looking for ideas on some filler chapters, so if you have any thoughts just post in the reviews. Thank you all again so much! Hugs for you all!**_

Chapter 8: Memories

I woke up and was greeted by sand and a setting sun. As I sat up I felt an unbearable headache setting in which caused me to clutch my head. Once the main surge of pain dissipated I stood and looked around.

"Where am I? Last thing I remember was being in bed at the orphanage."

My head felt like a fog had set in and I began to slowly walk down off the sand dune I was on top of. Once I was off the dune, I took a look around, seeing nothing but sand in all directions.

"How am I supposed to get out of here?"

I stared up at the sky and notice the way the sun was arching. I pick out which way was north and I began to walk in that direction, just hoping something would be there. During the first ten minutes I tried to gain my bearings.

"Okay, I'm in a desert. The last thing I remember can't possibly be from last night and I'm wearing some strange outfit."

The wind picked up and blasted me in the face with hot air. I cringed back, feeling the grains of sand scrubbing my face. My throat was extremely dry as well. After walking for another twenty minutes I could feel sweat breaking out across my forehead. I took a look around to see if anything around me had changed and I spotted a rocky area to my right. It would give me a better vantage point to see where I was. I began the trek to the rock, but it took longer than I had expected. Once my feet touched solid ground I sighed outwardly in relief. Staring up at the rock I took quick notice that there was no easy way up. I touched the side and found a series of foothold to climb. It took me about five minutes to climb the relatively small rock, and once I was on top I could see a bit more. After a brief moment of scanning I faintly heard what sounded like someone else climbing up the rock. Panic set in immediately as I pulled my hood up and tried to find something to hide behind. As I was about to make a run for the ledge and climb down I heard the person pull themselves up.

It was a teenager maybe a year older than me. He had short blonde hair and was wearing a skin tight uniform with a fancy A on his belt buckle. As I studied him I finally noticed his gills and I did a double take. He began to speak to me, but I couldn't understand a word he said. It was at that moment I realized I recognized him from TV.

"Y-You're Aqualad, aren't you?" I managed to squeak out with a mild stutter. Realization dawned on his face as he switched his language to English.

"Yes, I am Aqualad. Do you know where we are?"

I shook my head no while shifting under his gaze.

"Unfortunately no. I just woke up here."

Aqualad sighed quietly before glancing off into the distance. It was clear that he was just as confused as I was. I shifted once again, making sure that my hood was drawn up as far as possible and that the cloak was completely surrounding me.

"I apologize. I am Aqualad, but you may call me Kaldur. What is your name?"

"Eira. Do you have any idea how we could get out of here?"

Kaldur shook his head and studied the horizon.

"It appears that if we head farther east we may reach an encampment. I can see a plume of smoke coming from that direction."

I began to faintly hear a hum echoing through the silent night air. Kaldur seemed to spot the cause first and ran up to me, pulling me down into cover. He had placed himself just inches away from my face as to cover me from any harm, but the closeness made my cheeks flush bright red. He was staring at what I now realized were vehicles driving by. When the humming faded I quickly pulled myself away from Kaldur and tried to control my beet Red face. Thank goodness this hood covered my face so well. Kaldur stood up as well and walked to the ledge.

"Those were Bialian military vehicles. We must be in the Bialian Desert." My eyes grew twice as big as they were at Kaldur's observation.

"Bialya?! How can we be in Bialya? The last thing I remember was being in Gotham in bed."

"It appears there are holes in both of our memories. Perhaps we will find answers at that encampment."

I hesitated while staring in the direction of the smoke. There was a lot going on and I felt so lost right now. I wasn't sure if going with Kaldur would be best or just staying put and waiting for someone to find me. Then again Kaldur was the only person I had seen out here that looked friendly. I nodded and made my way to the ledge to begin scaling down.

"Will you be alright climbing down on your own?" I nodded and began to carefully climb down. Once we were both on the ground we began to walk through the sand again. We both listened intently for any sign of the vehicles coming back, but we heard nothing.

The silence was a relatively comfortable one, filled with the sound of the sand shifting and the wind. I would glance at Kaldur every one in a while and I began to notice the strain the heat was causing him. I looked at his gills and knew that this heat wasn't good for him. I found myself search my belt for anything and managed to tap something metal. I was surprised I hadn't noticed it before. I unstrapped the canteen and swished it around, feeling quite a bit of water sloshing inside.

"Here. Have some water."

Kaldur looked surprised at me and smiled at the kind offer.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to take your water from you."

"I'm sure. You could use it more than me. I'll be fine."

Kaldur seemed hesitant, as if he knew I needed the water more than I let on. He eventually took the canteen and sipped some of the water and handed it back.

"Thank you. I ran out of my own water an hour ago."

"You're welcome." I took a quick sip of the water as well and reattached it to my belt.

"So Kaldur, what is it like being a hero?"

Kaldur seemed taken aback by the question and paused to think of an answer.

"I very much enjoy it. It can be very dangerous and difficult at times, but knowing that I am helping people is enough reward for me. Why do you ask?" I paused and tried to think of a believable lie, but I couldn't come up with one.

"I want to make a difference in the world and change how people look at me. They see me in a..not so wonderful light."

Kaldur seemed puzzled by my words and looked at the side of my hood.

"Why would people look at you in such a way?"

"It's not something I've done. It something my mother has done. They think I will turn out just like her, but I don't want to. I want to help people and do good."

"Then that has already set you apart from her. You become who you choose to be. I cannot recommend becoming a hero to anyone, but it is a noble pursuit."

I smiled at Kaldur's kind words as the silence set back in. As we continued, the smoke on the horizon began to grow closer gradually. When it seemed like we were just a couple miles away, the humming reached out ears again. There was no close cover so we were forced to run away from the sound. I soon heard yelling in a different language as gunshot began to rain down on us. I let out a cry of pain as a bullet grazed my arm. Kaldur looked at me with concern, but we just kept running. Suddenly we were forced to a stop as four armed men cut us off. We were now surrounded and I knew if we didn't do something that would be it for us.

I took a deep breath and looked back at Kaldur before throwing my hand out and shooting ice spears causing the men to duck for cover. Kaldur seemed to not notice as he was dealing with his own enemies. I could feel my ice powers weakening with each blast as I became more and more dehydrated. As the soldiers one by one retreated I was inwardly jumping with joy. Finally the last one fled and I fell to my knees, panting and sweating. Kaldur was quick to help me to my feet and help me stand.

"Perhaps we should find a place to rest. This heat seems to be affecting both of us."

I nodded and we managed to walk for about twenty minutes before we reached a rock that gave us shade. We both sat down and I pulled out my canteen. I took a quick sip and had Kaldur finish what was left of the water. As I sat and stared at my cloak I realized that I needed to remove it to cool down more. I unhooked the clasp and as soon as it clicked off my outfit color completely changed.

"Woah. How did I do that?" I questioned with the cloak slipping off onto the sand. I studied the new color scheme of my uniform and smiled slightly. I liked the colors and for some reason just looking at my outfit filled me with a happiness I hadn't felt in a while. I glanced toward Kaldur who I had just noticed was staring at me, a surprised look on his face. Immediately I was regretting my decision, thinking that he was seeing the monster everyone called me. I quickly reached down to grab my cloak when his hand grabbed my wrist.

"I apologize for staring. Do not put that back on. You will overheat."

I looked at him and met his eyes. I got lost in them for a brief moment before I nodded and gently pulled my hand away. As I sat back down and felt the breeze hit me, I felt a bit of relief from removing the cloak.

"Why do you hide how you look?" Kaldur questioned while I pulled my legs up to my chest.

"Because everyone sees a monster." My face was set in a frown as I rested my forehead on my knees.

"Then they do not truly see who you are. I do not see a monster."

A smile crossed my lips as I looked sideways at Kaldur.

"Thank you. You're one of few people who sees me differently."

Kaldur and I sat there for a little while while waiting for the sun to fully set. We could hear trucks driving back and forth once in a while, but they never came too close. It felt like we had been waiting forever for the sun to set and it still was looming on the horizon. We decided that we should continue moving so we could get out of there quicker. As we walked we heard a noise we hadn't heard before. I couldn't figure out what it was until I saw a tank come over a sand dune. I watched it aim it's canon in our direction and fire.

"Kaldur! Move!"

I pulled Kaldur with me to get away from the blast, but we were still caught in it. We vote flew through the air and I landed near a rocky outcropping. I slowly sat up and rubbed my forehead. I felt something sticky and looked at my hand to see red.

"Ouch." I mumbled while spotting the rock I must have cut my forehead on. As I looked around I spotted Kaldur unconcious a few feet away.

"Kaldur!" I ran over to him and knelt down gingerly turning him on his back and resting his head on my lap. He didn't appear to be injured, but I knew his dehydration wasn't helping. I looked around and spotted the encampment we had been walking toward.

"Maybe they will have something there, but I can't leave Kaldur alone."

I kept debating back and forth on what to do until the sun had gone down. It was cooling off quickly, but it was still hot. I took a deep breath and placed my hand on Kaldur's forehead. I Super cooled my hand and watched as his slightly distressed face released slightly. I released more cold air and had it wrap around his body as I gingerly rested him back in the sand.

"Kaldur, I'll be back. I need to find you some help." I could hear Kaldur mumbling in that strange language again as I began to leave. As I carefully proceeded to the camp, I hunkered down and tried to see as much as possible. I watched men coming and going from the tents and heard someone yelling in pain. I managed to slip passed the guards and get next to the tent that the screaming was coming from. I waited for my opportunity and slipped into the tent undetected and hid behind a computer panel. I could hear the scientist talking about test results and I hear a very specific voice say something quietly. As I peeked over the console I saw a hooded man standing a few feet away from me. He quickly turned and faced me as I ducked down, pulling me hood up.

"Psimon says no hiding." He raised his hand and I began to float into the air. A squeak of surprise escaped my lips as I levitated out of my hiding spot.

"Oh, it seems I'm having a spot of good luck to catch you. Someone would pay a pretty price to have you back."

My blood ran cold at his words as I began to panic. I shot ice at him but he simply waved it away.

"Put me down!" I yelled as I continued shooting ice. A smile came to his face, but it wasn't at me. He was looking behind me at something. I couldn't see, but Psimon tossed me through the air and behind some computers. He stepped out of sight for a moment as I saw the scientists being pushed away by something that only appeared as a ripple in the air. The boy who was attached to the machine next to me stopped screaming as the computer shut down. I focused as hard as I could until I made out the shape of a girl who was camouflaged.

"Well, someone sure a glutton for punishment." I watched Psimon come out from hiding and stare at the camouflaged girl.

"Psimon says..." he pulled his hood down and I was immediately grossed out by what I saw. I could see his brain! I felt something tickling the back of my mind, but I fought it away. I could see the camouflaged girl raise her hands to her head as they both stared at one another. The scientists continued to watch, slightly bewildered at what they were seeing.

"Mister Psimon, are you alright?" One of them questioned while waving a hand in front of his face. He didn't respond and the scientist backed away from him still thoroughly confused. In the staring contest I started noticing things levitating off the ground. I felt myself beginning to be pulled so I grabbed onto the computer and held on for dear life.

I noticed the boy regain conciousness and heard a snarl come from him. His heart rate began to accelerate and a large sphere that they had been testing on broke free of its binds. It rolled into the machine holding the boy captive and he immediately lunge toward Psimon. He went to throw a punch but was deflected back by a force field. He was launched back and I saw him freeze. He was frozen for a moment then his face relaxed and he smiled.

I looked to the tent entrance and watched as some armed soldiers ran in with guns ready, but we're mowed over by the sphere.

"Uhhh, thanks?"

The sphere beeped at him as if saying you're welcome right as more soldiers charged in. I shot some ice at them, but it didn't do much considering I was still dehydrated. The boy finally took notice of me being there and surprise crossed his eyes.

"Eira?"

I didn't have time to ask him how he knew my name though, because a whirlwind started swirling around the girl and Psimon. I held on as tightly as I could, but I felt my fingers slipping. I was pulled into the vortex as the boy jumped into the heart. My head was spinning as I felt myself flying higher and higher in the air. Right when I was feeling like I was about to throw up I was flung from the vortex and landed hard in the sand.

"I'm really getting tired of being thrown around." I grumbled to myself as the sphere rolled up to me. I stood and placed a hand apprehensively on it. It beeped at me and proceeded to roll in a direction, seeming like it wanted me to follow. I started to follow it until I saw the boy and girl from before sitting on the ground together. I stayed back from them, unsure of what I could be interrupting.

"Can I keep it?" The boy asked the girl with a smile before noticing me standing a little ways off. The girl looked at me and smiled at huge grin.

"Eira! I'm so glad you're okay!" She flew over to me and gave me a huge hug.

"Um, who are you and how do you know my name?"

The girl tapped her forehead with her hand in a way I recognized as a habit.

"Hello Megan, I need to restore your memories." Her eyes glew green and suddenly all my memories flooded back to me. When Megan was done I held my head and waiting for the light wave of dizziness to pass.

"That is a feeling I don't want to relive." After my statement I realized that Kaldur was still waiting for me to come back.

"Oh no! Kaldur! We need to go get him!" I was ready to make a run for where I knew he was, but Megan and Superboy stopped me.

"Calm down, he's with the others at the bioship." I looked at Megan with relief flooding my face.

"Thank goodness."

We began our trip back to the bioship shortly after that. I heard the psychic mind link hook us all up as Megan began to talk.

'Hey everybody, I've got Superboy and Eira. Superboy is back to normal and we're on our way.' I could hear Kaldur startle and realized his memories weren't back.

'Hello Megan, Aqualad's memories. I knew I forgot something.' Megan tapped her forehead again as I heard Wally pick up the conversation.

'Aw man! Me too! I didn't get a souvenir from the mission.'

'Don't worry, got the souvenir thing covered.' Megan replied as we grew closer and closer to the bioship. Once we were finally on board Megan fixed Kaldur's memories as I collapsed into my chair. Robin was the first to take notice of my slightly bloodied forehead and tired appearance. He grabbed a wet cloth and a bottle of water and walked over to me. I was quick to drink the water and immediately felt better as Robin cleaned up my forehead.

"So how did you get this cut?"

"Kaldur and I had a tank fire at us. The explosion sent us flying and I must have scratched my head on a rock."

Robin studied the minor injury and deemed it okay, then took his seat. The bioship sprang to life and we flew off in the direction of home. I watched the night sky flying by and I watched the stars twinkling. It was so peaceful that I almost fell asleep. Kaldur had to reach over from his seat from time to time to shake me lightly. Every time he would my mind wandered to the mission. I kept thinking about what I would have done if I hadn't stumbled into Kaldur. Would I have still been stuck on that rock waiting for help? Would my team have found me before I died of dehydration? I knew I shouldn't have been focusing on the what ifs, but never the less that's where it kept going. I found myself thanking Kaldur inwardly for being there. He was calm and collected when I wasn't and that's what made him such a great leader.

"Eta 10 minutes." I heard Robin say as I began recognizing the landscape below us. I shifted excitedly, ready to get into my comfy bed. When we finally arrived in the hangar I was the first one off the ship. Everyone seemed far to tired to do much of anything other than go to bed, so Wally, Robin, and Artemis quickly went home. Kaldur lagged behind to report to Batman and both Megan and Superboy went to their rooms. I waited to go to bed just to make sure I thanked Kaldur for helping me on the mission. When Batman left I approached Kaldur quietly.

"Kaldur? I just wanted to thank you for helping me on the mission. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up. I would probably still be sitting on that rock right now." Kaldur placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and smiled.

"You do not need to thank me. Besides, you helped me as well. I doubt I would have survived so long in the desert if you hadn't given me some of your water."

I smiled back at him and gave a little laugh.

"So I guess we're even."

Kaldur chuckled back with me, that same smile on his face.

"It would appear so. You should probably get some sleep. I will see you in the morning."

"Good night Kaldur." I said with a wave as he walked through the zeta tube. I made my way back to my bedroom and laid down on my bed. I was still smiling while I stared at the ceiling. I realized it and my smile faded. I placed a hand over my face and in the dark I just kept thinking. This mission helped me truly realize how helpless I was before I decided to try and become a hero. It was a glaring realization that I wasn't expecting.

"I've changed so much in just a few months. I can't wait to see how much more I'll change in a few more months." My smile returned as I changed and climbed back into bed. In the dark I closed my eyes and sleep took me within a few moments.


	9. Chapter 9: My First Day of School

Chapter 9: My First Day of School

"Today has been so boring!" I yelled in frustration while laying upside down on the couch with my legs swung over the back. There wasn't anything on TV and no missions.

"I can't keep just laying around here doing nothing! I'll wither away into nothing!"

It was at that point of my complaining that I heard a beeping coming from our computer. I walked up to it and pressed the holographic Green button that was flashing.

"Snowstorm, report to the Batcave. We have something to discuss." Batman's call was short and to the point, but I wasn't about to complain. I was getting out of the cave! I headed to the zeta tube and went to the Batcave. When I arrived I saw Batman sitting at the computer typing. When he noticed I had come in he removed his cowl and waved me to sit next to him.

"Eira, because of your current situation with your mother we have reached a dilemma. School will be starting shortly and you need to decide which school you wish to attend. You can either go to Gotham Academy with Robin and Artemis, or Happy Harbor High school with Superboy and Miss Martian."

I had completely forgotten that school was about to start. Summer went by so fast I didn't even realize it. I had to weigh my options for both schools. Gotham Academy was a prestigious school, but Gotham wasn't really safe for me right now with my mother wandering around. Happy Harbor High was a normal high school and it was safer, maybe I should just go there.

"If you choose Happy Harbor, when the possible threat of you mother is gone you can be transferred."

I nodded and came to my decision.

"Happy Harbor it is then."

He nodded before typing up something on the computer and just like that I was now enrolled.

"Classes will be starting soon. Here, take this to get your supplies that you'll need for classes. And remember, if you don't keep your grades up you'll be suspended from the team. Even though you want to become a hero you still need an education."

"I understand. Good grades and I stay on the team."

I left shortly after, heading back to the cave with a small smile.

"I guess school will get me out of the cave, so it won't be too bad."

I didn't waste long finding Superboy and and Megan and getting them to agree to go shopping for school supplies. We went down to Happy Harbor and browsed through a couple shops. I made sure that we stopped by a school supplies store. I ended up getting a black messenger bag for a backpack and a notebook with kittens on it. When I showed it to Megan she said it was adorable. Superboy just seemed like he didn't want to be there.

After the school supplies stop we walked by a clothing and shoe store. As we were passing I noticed a pair of men's boots in the window and snuck in unnoticed. I had almost forgotten that I needed to buy Superboy a pair of replacement boots to repay him for his old pair that got burned off on the Dr. Fate mission. I bought the boots and quickly caught back up to Megan and Superboy.

"Hey Superboy, I had almost forgotten, but here are those boots I owed you."

Superboy raised an eyebrow as he looked in the bag. A small smile crept onto his face as he messed up my hair.

"Thanks Eira. You really didn't need to though."

I smiled as I managed to fix my hair as we continued.

"So are you guys hungry?" I asked as I felt my stomach growl. The other two looked at one another and gave a nod to me.

"What do you feel like? Maybe tacos? Burgers?"

Megan seemed a little apprehensive at my suggestions, but Superboy placed a hand on her shoulder and she smiled at him.

"We can try tacos." She finally said as we redirected to the nearest taco shop. We got our food and I noticed Megan simply staring at her food.

"Have you never had tacos before Megan?" She gave a nervous smile at me and I could tell she wasn't sure about the food.

"It's really good. The shell is made of corn, the meat is either chicken, beef or pork. Everything else you've tried before."

She seemed to relax a little and took an apprehensive bite. Her smile grew as she swallowed.

"This is really good!" She said with a smile and took another bite. I took a second to glance at Superboy and noticed his tacos were completely gone.

"Wow Superboy, you must have been really hungry. Do you want some more?"

Superboy seemed to contemplate it and nodded to me. I went back up and ordered some more then placed them down at the table.

Once we were finished eating we walked around for another hour before we decided to call it a day. Classes would be starting tomorrow and we needed to get everything prepared.

"So Eira, are you going to school with us or back in Gotham?"

I glanced to Megan as she asked and gave a small smile.

"I'm going to school with you two. Batman let me choose earlier."

"That's great! We'll have classes together! Oh! Maybe we could even tryout to become cheerleaders together!"

My eyes grew twice their normal size as I took a step away from Megan's enthusiasm.

"I'm not really interested in becoming a cheerleader. The last thing I want is a bunch of people staring at me more than they will already. But I'll go with you to all your practices. I promise."

Megan agreed and we headed home. Once we were in the cave Megan began pulling me to my room to pick out our outfits for tomorrow.

"Come on Eira, what you wear on the first day of school is super important. You need to make a good first impression."

"What's wrong with what I normally wear? It covers everything it needs to and I'm comfortable."

"But it's not really very fashionable. I know you can pick out what will look good on you. I still remember you helping me pick out a good swimsuit." I sighed in defeat as we entered my room and my closet flew open. Megan began to telepathically pick my closet apart looking for anything that wasn't jeans and a hoodie.

"Megan, I'm telling you there's nothing wrong with my normal clothes."

"Oh hush." She retorted as something caught her eye. It was something that Alfred probably snuck into my wardrobe when I first came to the cave. It was a dark green knee length dress that was light and airy. Almost like a sundress. It had cap sleeves and a most scoop neck.

"This is perfect!"

I stared at it for a moment and studied it. The color wasn't bad and it worked against my skin tone. It actually made me look a little less pale.

"Okay, that's not too bad. But what about shoes?"

Megan was already sorting through the few pairs that I had. She managed to find a pair of cute silver wedges. The wedge was just low enough to be comfortable, but just high enough to give me about an inch or two.

"This outfit would be perfect. Now you can help me pick out mine."

Megan began to shift her outfit to all different kinds. She even tried jeans and a tank top, but none of them really suited her until she change it to a cute pink skirt with a matching cardigan and white blouse. It looked so perfect on her.

"That one is perfect. It really suites you."

Megan giggled and we both agreed to wear the outfits the other had picked. As I got ready for bed I thought about how school would be the next day. If I would be in hard classes or would they be easy for me. How many classes would I have with Megan and Superboy? As I thought and thought eventually I drifted to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning I checked the clock. It was flashing 6:00 am so I quickly got up and started to get ready. Once I was all dressed I walked around the cave trying to get used to what I was wearing. I felt so strange in these clothes and shoes, and I was constantly wanting to cover myself more. When I reached the kitchen I saw Megan putting together our lunches for the day.

"Ooo what are we having for lunch?"

"I made you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and there is some water and chips in there too."

"Is it grape jelly?"

Megan giggled at me and nodded while handing me my bag.

"Thank you Megan. For lunch and helping me pick out my outfit."

"It was no trouble. It was a lot of fun actually."

Right as we finished talking the zeta teleporter whirred to life. Kaldur was the first to walk in and he greeted us with a smile.

"Hi Kaldur, are you here to wish us luck on our first day at school?" I was starting to get excited now and my voice held a bit of enthusiasm.

"Yes. Do you have everything that you will need?"

"Yeah. Megan, Superboy and I all went shopping for school supplies yesterday."

"I am glad to hear that."

Shortly after Kaldur arrived, Martian Manhunter appeared and Red Tornado descended from his apartment.

"Uncle J'onn! I'm so glad to see you!" Megan flew over and gave her uncle a hug right before she noticed the time.

"If we don't hurry we might be late!" We all then went to the hangar, figuring that Superboy would be there. Once we came into the hangar Megan flew ahead.

"Ready for school? I made our lunches." I could tell now that Megan was extremely excited for school, but I couldn't blame her. This would be her first time attending school on Earth.

"The first day of the scholastic season carries great cultural resonance. We want to wish you three well." I forgot how Martian Manhunter spoke so properly. It took me a minute to adjust.

"Guess it's not a kryptonian thing." I could see Superboy was disappointed at Superman not being there. And to be honest I was a little sad that Batman wasn't there to see me off either.

"You may wish to...change before you depart." I looked to Megan just waiting for her to get more excited about her outfit.

"Ah! Eira and I spent hours choosing this outfit! What do you think, can M'gann M'orzz pass as an earth girl now?"

I giggled quietly to myself knowing that she was playing with Kaldur. I saw the uncertain look on his face.

"Well..."

"Just kidding! Meet Megan Morse." Megan's skin turned a shade of pink as she spun and did a cirtsy. She quickly spun back around to face Superboy for a moment.

"What's your new name?"

"My what?"

"I chose the name John Jones for myself and suggested the name John Smith for Red Tornado. You could be a John too." I watched Martian Manhunter shift into another form before I heard Superboy quickly shoot down the name John.

"Connor's always been my favorite name." I smiled at that name. It did seem to fit Superboy pretty well.

"I think you definately look like a Connor." I seconded while playing with the hem of my skirt. This thing was going to drive me nuts by the end of the day. Superboy simply shrugged at the suggestion, but I think he only accepted it because Megan liked it.

"A last name will also be required." Aqualad added while I started racking my brain.

"Perhaps, Kent." Manhunter suggested. I will admit it had a nice ring to it.

"Oh, in memory of Doctor Fate. The late Kent Nelson." Megan seemed like she seemed really pleased with the suggestion.

"Ah, of course." Manhunter said slightly apprehensively. I had a feeling that wasn't where he got the name from, but he seemed to just go with it.

"Okay. Sure. I guess it would be an honor or something." Connor simply agreed as if it didn't really matter.

"Well Connor Kent, time to change your shirt."

Connor placed a hand on his chest as if asking why.

"You don't want to reveal your identity." Connor kind of stared blankly at Megan before pulling his shirt off and turning it inside out. I rolled my eyes and looked toward Kaldur who seemed to have glanced my way at the same time. A smile crossed his face before he spoke.

"I have neglected to ask what your last name is."

"Oh, my last name is Evans."

"It seems to suit you."

During mine and Kaldur's brief conversation, Connor had changed his shirt and were beginning to walk away.

"I'll see you later." I said to Kaldur before running to catch up with Megan and Connor. The walk to school didn't take too long, but I was slightly regretting the shoes. The small hike down the mountain wasn't so easy in wedges.

"Megan, next time I'm picking flats." Megan giggled while Connor glanced back at me.

"Why did you two get all dressed up anyway?"

"I only did it because Megan insisted."

"It's because you want to make a good first impression."

"I guess." Connor didn't seem to buy into it though as we finally arrived at the school. There were so many people everywhere that I could feel myself wanting to retreat back to the cave. I could fight a villain any day of the week, but don't ever put me in a crowd of people or you may never see me again. In my disoriented state I quickly lost sight of Megan and Connor. I quietly started panicking while taking notice of a few people beginning to stare at me. My hands began to shake and I had a slightly distressed look on my face. I guess some girl noticed and took pity on me.

"Hi there. I'm Wendy, you must be new." I nodded, too nervous to even speak.

"Don't be nervous, I was new last year, so I can help you out."

"T-Thank you. I don't do very well in crowds." She smiled once again and began to lead me toward the front of the school where I finally spotted Megan and Connor. I visibly relaxed, but took notice of Connor glaring down another guy. A teacher was quick to break up what was going on and told everyone to get to homeroom. I was quick to walk up to Megan and Connor who finally noticed that I wasn't with them.

"Where did you come from?" I could tell by the way Connor was talking that whatever that other guy had said really irritated him.

"I kind of got separated from you two when we got here. Never doing that again." I laughed nervously as Wendy walked up and stood next to another guy who seemed a little on the nerdy side.

"Hi, I'm Wendy. I was new last year so I know how hard it is to fit in. But you look like instant Bumblebee material to me." I saw confusion cover Megan's face for a moment before Wendy continued.

"Cheerleaders. The bumblebees. Tryouts are after school." Wendy did a spin to show off her uniform and I saw pure happiness and excitement spring to life on Megan's face.

"Thanks! I'll be there!"

I walked along with Wendy and Megan as we we were shown to the office to get our schedules. Once we got them I realized that Megan and I were in all the same classes except for some electives. We made our way to homeroom and to my slight surprise, our teacher was the one who broke up whatever was going on between Connor and that other boy. Connor and Megan sat together and I took the only other available seat near the back of the room. The teacher then rolled a TV to the front and turned it on to the news. We were watching a peace summit for North and South Rhelasia.

"If Lexus Luther's unknown strategy for peace fails, the two Rhelasias are looking at all out war before morning."

Just as the news reporter finished the teacher turned off the tv and faced the class.

"Who can tell me more about Rhelasia? Marvin?"

The boy from earlier seemed to be snapped out of his sleep.

"Well, Mr. Carr, it's..better than fake Asia?"

Everyone shared a quiet chuckle at Marvin's expense.

"Anyone else?"

"Modern Rhelasia was created in 1855 and ruled by the Boguoon dynasty until it was divided by the great powers into North and South Rhelasia after World War 2." I stared at the back of Connor's head in surprise. He said all that like he was reading out of a textbook. Everyone, including the teacher, we're all dumbfounded for a moment. Mr. Carr, however, regained his composure quickly.

"Very good."

"But why are they fighting? They're all humans. I mean, Rhelasians, right?"

"Right on both counts, actually."

Mr. Carr turned to begin his lesson as I heard Megan speak into our mind link.

'It's no different on Mars. The white Martian minority are treated as second class citizens by the green majority. Of course, I'm green, but that doesn't make it right.'

'I guess there are things like that for every race. Human or not.' I could tell there was more to what Megan was saying, but I didn't want to pry. It was clearly a touchy subject with her. I could see a look on Connor's face that said the same thing.

The rest of class breezed by. We just learned about Rhelasia a little bit before the bell rang to head to our other classes. My classes weren't very difficult at all. Math would be my biggest challenge, but it was still not too bad. By the time school got out, I had a bunch of textbooks and homework weighing down my bag. It was beginning to dig into my shoulder uncomfortably. Since my last class of the day wasn't with Megan or Connor I had to hunt for them. Eventually I found them as they were beginning to head to the football field so Megan could try out for the Bumblebees.

"So how were your classes today?" I was curious to find out if Megan or Connor would have issues.

"They were interesting. I'm excited to be able to learn more about how things are here on Earth." I smiled at Megan's answer as I looked to Connor.

"What about you Connor?"

"Easy." Was his simple response. He was clearly still in a bit of a mood from earlier today. Once we were at the football field Connor and I took a seat in the bleachers as the try outs began.

"So how did you know all that stuff from before about Rhelasia?"

"When Cadmus created me, they used these creatures called genomorphs to force feed me an education." His face didn't seem to change. He was clearly starting to come to terms with how he came to be.

"Wow, that'll make school easy for you huh?"

Connor just shrugged as Megan stepped up to take her turn. She went through the routine flawlessly and it made me smile. It was so over the top and bubbly. I guess that's just how cheerleaders were supposed to do things though. After she finished and was waiting with anticipation I watched as a couple girls walked up behind Megan with a silver bucket. I watched them pour the water on her and I heard part of the bleacher snap next to me. Connor was on his feet and I was just barely able to grab onto his wrist before he jumped toward them. Megan yelled through the mind link at Connor and it caused him to stumble down the bleachers, pulling me with him. When we finally hit the ground I was lucky enough to land on my butt.

"Dang it Connor." I mumbled while standing up and dusting off my, now bruised, butt. Once the other cheerleaders had gone, Connor gave Megan his jacket. It was really cute and sweet. He then picked up her books for her.

"You're carrying my books?"

"What, you want then to get wet?"

I could see the smile on Megan's face and the slightest bit of a blush. I lightly elbowed Megan with a smile as she looked at me.

"You two make such a cute couple." That caused Megan to blush even more and stutter, unable to come up with anything to say. I giggled at her as we followed Connor. Since school was over for the day we headed back to the cave and I immediately set to work on my homework. History was easy enough, we just had to answer some questions about Rhelasia. The homework that got me a little stumped was Math. I sighed in exasperation while I stared down at the problems.

"Having trouble with homework?"

I glanced to the side to see Connor staring at me.

"A little. I'm horrible at math."

"Want some help?" I smiled at his offer and accepted. Connor spent an hour with me trying to get me to understand the problems. After many failed attempts I finally understood it. Connor made sure to pick on me when I would make the same mistake. When I was finally done, Connor and I watched tv for a little bit. It didn't take long for me to start to grow restless again.

"Hey Connor, I'm bored. Do you wanna do something?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Go see movie, hang out with sphere, play a board game?"

"A board game?"

"Yeah, you know, like Monopoly or something?"

"I've never played a board game before."

"Well then Monopoly it is. But we'll need more players."

Just as I said that the zeta tubes came to life and Wally, Artemis and Robin walked in.

"Perfect timing! Who wants to play Monopoly!" I flopped myself halfway over the couch and stared at the three with puppy dog eyes.

"Please ease? Connor's never played before."

The three of the looked confused for a moment while glancing at one another.

"Oh, sorry. Connor is Superboy's new name. Connor Kent."

I could see a look of amusement come across Wally and Robin's faces, but they hid it well.

"I'm down. I'm an expert at Monopoly." Robin was grinning ear to ear like the Cheshire cat. It was kind of unnerving.

"Pfft, I'll kick your butt in the first thirty minutes." Wally seemed pretty full of himself too.

"Well the let's play. Put your money where your mouth is." Artemis had a smile in her face as she walked over to the table. I had run off to my room to grab the game. It was one of the few things that I had while at the orphanage. Once I came back everyone was seated at the table, even Megan, but she made it clear that she just wanted to watch. Once the board was set up we went over the rules with Connor and gave out the starting money. I magically was the first to go and rolled my dice.

After two hours I was staring at the board about ready to pull my hair out.

"I regret everything."

I had my money and cards laid out in front of me trying to figure out what I needed to roll to avoid Robin's Monopoly on Boardwalk and Park Place. If I didn't roll something higher than a three I would be broke.

"How did you even get that Monopoly?!"

"Remember? Connor traded me Boardwalk for one of the red spaces so he could get that monopoly."

"Dang it Connor!"

He just shrugged with a smug smile on his face. I rolled the dice and cheered when I rolled a 4.

"Haha! You ain't getting my money!"

Robin shook his head at my outburst before taking his turn. It continued like this as one by one everyone dropped out of the game, but me and Robin. We both had a ton of monopolies and were literally just passing the money back and forth. Neither one of us was making any headway. Wally and Artemis were both getting impatient and Connor and Megan had already gone off somewhere. At some point Kaldur had entered the cave, but no one really paid him and my mind while he typed away on the holographic computer. Finally, about another hour later Robin and I called it a draw. Artemis had begun doing homework while Wally was eating anything he could get his hands on. Megan had come back and started cooking dinner while Connor watched tv.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to relieve the strain they had been under for three hours.

"I think I need to get a game that doesn't take hours to play. Maybe Clue or Apples to Apples."

"I second that." Artemis said while still going over her homework. Everyone seemed to agree before we all realized how late it was. Everyone said their good night's and left. Kaldur had been so focused on the computer in front of him that he didn't notice that everyone was gone. I walked over to him and looked at the screen.

"Hey Kaldur, What're you up to?"

"I am doing some research into something I assisted Red Arrow with earlier."

Across the screen was everything pertaining to Lex Luthor, Lex Corp and the League of Shadows.

"Wow, looks pretty serious. Red Arrow really knows how to get himself in deep doesn't he?"

"Indeed. He never ceases to find trouble." I saw a smile grace Kaldur's face for a brief moment before he closed the files.

"I'm afraid it is getting late and I should be leaving. Good night Eira."

"Oh, okay. Night Kaldur."

As Kaldur left I couldn't help but feel a little odd. Kaldur didn't seem quite like himself. It was almost as if he had something on his mind. It was clearly something he didn't want to share though. I contemplated it for a short time, but decided not to dwell on it. Kaldur's business wasn't an concern of mine, and I'm sure he would want me prying into it. As I eventually cleaned up the Monopoly board I heard the zeta tube announce Batman. I glanced over my shoulder and watched him approach me with that usual stoic look on his face.

"Eira, I need to discuss something with you. I plan to send Miss Martian and Superboy on a mission within the next week. It is an undercover mission. I would like to include you, however it would require something of you."

I stared up at Batman with a quizzical look before he continued.

"You will be disguised as a villain to infiltrate a prison, however, the only villain you could properly imitate would be your mother. You don't have to go through with it if you aren't comfortable."

I paused in contemplation. I was taken back by the suggestion and began to formulate possible ways to imitate her.

"If you think I can do it then I'm in. But one thing, don't you think they would notice that I look fifteen instead of how old my mother is supposed to be?"

"We've considered that and I have enlisted help from Zatara. He knows a spell to temporarily age you. The spell will only last 12 hours, so the objective must be fulfilled within that time frame." I nodded in agreement before Batman left once again.

'An undercover mission. Sounds interesting.'


	10. Chapter 10: Belle Reve

**_Hello everyone! I am so sorry for my inactivity. I am planning on continuing my story, but the passed two months have been very hectic. I have also been fighting some writer's block. But I am back now and I hope everyone enjoys. I would personally like to thank those of you who reviewed and those who personally messaged me. You all make me feel amazing knowing that people are really enjoying my story._**

 **Chapter 10: Belle Reve**

Another few days passed accompanied by school and the occasional venture to Gotham to do some patrol with Batman. It was pretty clear my mother wasn't planning on popping up any time soon. She made her intent pretty clear. With the relative calm, and I use the term calm very loosely, I was able to come to Gotham more and more. Being on patrol with Batman and Robin was a really nice change, but I could always tell they were on alert for not only crime, but her. I had been watching the news and they had named her Cryos. They were stating how there was a lull in the activity and that hopefully Cryos was gone for good. I knew better though. It would just be a matter of time before she became impatient and tried something more drastic.

On this particular patrol there wasn't really anything going on, so Batman told me I was done for the night and sent me on my way. On my way back to the zeta tube I happened to stumble across someone I wasn't completely expecting. As I was about to enter the zeta booth, it lit up and out stepped Artemis. She looked around before coming out and noticing me.

"Hey Artemis, what's up?"

Artemis seemed to be at a loss for words simply at my presence. I watched her with a confused look on my face.

"Are you heading home for the night?"

She jumped at my words suddenly realizing that I had caught her.

"No, I came to visit my cousin. She lives here. I live in Star City with my uncle."

"Really? I could have sworn Batman said you would be going to Gotham Academy. Don't you have to be living in Gotham to attend?"

This caught Artemis even more off guard as I watched her defensive exterior weaken.

"Fine, you caught me. I live here."

"Why are you trying to hide the fact that you live in Gotham? There's nothing wrong with it."

"I'm not hiding anything! I just want to keep my home safe."

"Okay then. Be safe walking home. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you later."

As I entered the booth I paused before entering in the coordinates for the Batcave. When I came out I headed straight for the computer and began doing a little research. Something about the way Artemis was acting threw me off. I felt bad for trying to dig through her personal business, but I wanted to make sure everything was okay. As I looked more and more, I found out a few things about her that I didn't know. There was also one glaring thing we had in common. I sighed slightly before shutting all the files.

"She's probably worried we won't accept her knowing about her family."

I contemplated what to do with my new knowledge and eventually decided to bring it up to Artemis at a different time. I just hope she wouldn't hate me for snooping. Maybe she would feel better knowing someone else was in a similar situation. I made my way back to the cave for the night and passed some time before going to bed.

When I woke up the next morning nothing was going on, but Artemis was there. She was alone and I had a feeling she picked this time for a good reason. Megan and Connor usually were in the garage or off somewhere.

"Morning Artemis. You're here early."

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About last night?"

"Yeah. Could you keep the fact that I live in Gotham a secret? It would just make things easier."

"If you don't want me to tell anyone about it, then I won't. It's not my place to say anything. I did want to talk to you about something though."

"Okay. Shoot."

"You're probably going to be really mad, but I wasn't snooping for the sake of snooping. I was just worried about you. Why haven't you told anyone about your family?"

Artemis, as expected, was furious at first.

"You dug through my personal files?! How could you do that? Do you not trust me?!" I let her vent her anger and frustration before I finally spoke up again. I shifted slightly and grabbed my right arm with my left hand in a nervous gesture.

"You're not alone Artemis. My mom is the same as your parents."

That caught Artemis off guard. She was immediately silenced and stared at me in shock. I could only imagine what she was thinking.

"So to aim your question back at you, why didn't you say anything?"

"I was worried that the team wouldn't accept me. I mean I knew Batman and Robin would. They knew before I even came on the team, but I wasn't sure how everyone else would feel. Growing up, everyone avoided me because of it. I guess I just keep it to myself to avoid all of that from people I actually care about."

Artemis frowned and looked down at the ground.

"I guess we do share that then. Let's make a deal, neither of us will say anything about this. But when one of us is ready to talk about it to the team, then we'll do it together."

I smiled at the deal and nodded.

"Sounds good to me."

We decided that since everything was now dealt with, we needed something to occupy us. Without a mission or any homework I suggested sparring. Artemis agreed and we began practice. As we went through the usual stretches before hand we talked about random things. Wally, Megan, Connor and Robin were the main topics until we finally started sparring. I found out two things in that practice. One, Artemis is great at hand to hand, and two, if I'm going down, you're coming down with me.

Artemis was very quick and extremely flexible which made landing a solid punch or kick difficult. She would flip away or side step me. Eventually I managed to get a hand on her and threw her, but she landed firmly on her feet. Our practice lasted almost an hour before she tripped me up. As I fell on the ground, she let her defenses down and I tripped her up as well. Once practice was over we both got up and started laughing at the other's appearance. Our hair was a mess and we were covered in sweat. Our clothes were wrinkled and we both had a bruise or two.

"That was a great practice. We should spar more often." Artemis said while straightening up and wiping the sweat off her forehead.

"Yeah, I haven't had that much of a workout in a while."

We both sat down at the table and relaxed for a little bit before Megan and Connor came into the room.

"Eira, Batman is going to be coming soon with Zatara. He said to be ready." I stared at Megan for a moment before nodding and standing up.

"I should probably get going anyway. Later." Artemis stood up and headed to the zeta tube and left. I went and showered before coming back to the zeta tubes to see Batman and Zatara.

"The others will be arriving shortly. We need to get this done before they arrive." Batman looked to Zatara and nodded while he stepped toward me with something in his hand. He placed the items in my hand and I stared at them. They were red contact lenses.

"I may be able to age your body, but you eyes will remain the same color. Wear these at all times to ensure your identity is not discovered." I nodded to Zatara as he stepped back and began to recite the spell. He held out the palms of his hands and a bright light shot at me. When the light engulfed me I felt extremely warm. I felt myself growing taller and my body changing as it aged. When the warm feeling disappeared I stared at Batman and Zatara, wondering if it worked.

"Thank you Zatara." Batman nodded as Zatara left through the zeta tubes.

"So did it work?" Batman nodded to me before gesturing for me to follow him over to the computer.

"The only thing that is missing are your mother's scars. They can be duplicated with simple make up. Put on the contact lenses."

I carefully put them on and blinked quite a bit at the odd feeling. I had never worn glasses or contacts before so having something directly on my eye was a strange feeling to say the least. Just as I finished putting the contacts in, Connor and Megan entered the room. As I turned to look at them Megan gasped at my appearance.

"Eira?" I smiled at her and thankfully it still came across as my genuine smile.

"I look pretty close right?" Megan nodded while they both stood next to me looking at my taller form.

"If I didn't know any better I would have mistaken you for her." Megan's shock faded quick enough as one by one more people entered the cave.

Kaldur, as well as Martian Manhunter, Superman and Red Tornado all came. Once everyone was present, Batman began his briefing.

"This fourth of July, four ice villains staged simultaneous attacks. Mr. Freeze, Icicle Jr., Killer Frost and Captain Cold were all easily apprehended. Perhaps, too easily. Cold and Frost were immediately sent to Belle Reve penitentiary, a federal prison designed to house super-criminals. The seventeen year old Icicle Jr., was sent to a juvenile facility. Mr. Freeze to his usual cell in Arkham Asylum. But Freeze petitioned the court to be declared legally sane, and junior sued to be tried as an adult. As a result, both await transport to Belle Reve, which seems to have been the goal all along. I'm sending the three of you in to find out why." I nodded just as Kaldur posed a question.

"Who inside the prison will know their true identites?"

"No one. We can't be sure the prison staff isn't compromised." Batman proceeded to go over who Megan and Connor would be impersonating while I headed off to put on the make up for my "scars". As I was applying it, Connor and Megan walked by heading to Connor's room with a bottle of hair dye in hand. I was curious, but I needed to focus. I needed to think of how my mother acted and spoke so that I wouldn't blow my cover. I practiced on myself for a few minutes before I went back to Batman. The others had all left and I assumed they were preparing for everything.

"Your mother has fallen off the radar and was last seen leaving Gotham over a week ago. It is a safe bet to say that she won't pose an issue in this mission." I nodded before Batman gave me my run down.

"You will be slipped into the same van as Miss Martian and Superboy. Most likely upon arrival you may be utilized in whatever plan is being formed. Remember to stick to the mission. Aqualad and Red Tornado will be just outside the prison should the need arise to have the three of you removed."

"Understood."

"Good. Let's go."

Right as Batman finished, Megan and Connor walked into the room. Connor looked VERY different with blonde hair and the clothes he was wearing, but he played the part well. As we left Batman placed an inhibitor collar on me and I felt the familiar weight on my chest.

"I hate these things." I mumbled while tugging lightly on the collar. Along the way I changed into something more fitting to what my mother would wear. I was now wearing dark blue leggings with a lighter blue halter shirt and black heeled boots. The outfit to me was uncomfortable, but I would have to deal with it. I was soon dropped off by Red Tornado and placed in the truck by myself. They hadn't gathered up Freeze or junior yet, so it was just me and the guard. He didn't say anything, all he did was stare at me as I glared at him. I at least had to try and make myself believeable.

As the truck came to its first stop, Mr. Freeze was loaded into the special containment chamber in the far end. He was staring at me with quite a bit of intensity, but I couldn't tell if it was with curiosity or animosity. We continued along to the next stop on complete silence, soon picking up junior. As he took a seat he stared at me with confusion. It was clear on his face that he wasn't expecting me to be there.

"What're you staring at kid." I spoke in the most harsh tone I could while directing an equally harsh glare at him.

"Nothing." He glanced toward Freeze and they made eye contact, non-verbally communicating something. The truck continued on its way once again in more silence. It took about thirty minutes before we stopped again and my heart rate began to pick up. The doors swung open and in stepped Megan and Connor disguised as the terror twins. I pretended to ignore them as I fiddled with the cuffs around my wrists. It was bad enough we were wearing these stupid collars. I could see Megan looking around the small truck. I also noticed the expression on junior's face. I cringed inwardly at the way he was eyeing Megan. After a few minutes of quiet thought I heard junior start to speak up.

He was leaning toward Connor saying something.

"Dude. Dude!" Connor finally realized he was talking to him and looked.

"Your sister is sweet! How bout you put in a good word for me?"

I could see Megan cringing at the thought, but junior's little outburst got him smacked in the chest with the butt of a gun.

"Sit down. We're here. Welcome to Belle Reve." The prison guard opened the doors once we came to a stop and one by one we all climbed out. We were led into the prison and into an open area where a woman and man were standing on a balcony above us.

"I am the law of last resort. My name is Amanda Waller. I am not your mother, your maiden aunt or your friend. I am your warden. And you are my prisoners. The proprietary collars you wear are custom designed to inhibit your specific meta abilities. No strength, no ice. In addition, the collars can and will be used to discipline inmates. A con who breaks the rules gets one warning."

Suddenly I felt a powerful shock run through my body and I involuntarily yelled out in pain. The pain was brief but everyone felt it.

"If order has not been restored the next shook will render the offender unconcious. At the slightest hint of trouble, this facility goes into lockdown. Belle Reve's walls are thick enough to hold Superman. We know, we checked. No one's ever escaped Belle Reve. No one ever will." When Waller finished her tirade about how great Belle Reve was the man standing behind her cleared his throat and stepped forward slightly.

"Oh. This is Professor Hugo Strange. He IS your maiden aunt."

He stepped up to the railing and I got a strange vibe off of him. It made me feel uneasy under his gaze.

"Actually, I'm the prison psychiatrist and I promise you a sincere attempt at rehabilitation."

Waller turned a harsh gaze down at us before adding her own two cents.

"Because we know you types are all about sincerity."

After the speeches were down Megan and I were separated into the woman's wing. As we walked I could hear the other woman yelling to one another. Whenever I passed a cell though I earned silence and stares. Megan was finally directed into a cell with Killer Frost and I was placed into the one next to her's. The whole walk pretty much, Megan and Connor were communicating within the mind link.

When I took notice of my cell mate she was an extremely large and muscular woman who looked down at me. On the inside I was scared, but I wouldn't let it show on the outside. We just literally stared at one another for a moment before she climbed onto the bottom bunk and laid down. I forced myself to keep the same expression and made my way onto the top bunk.

The time seemed to drag on with little going on. It seemed like all that really happened was resting until it was time to head into the mess hall. As we all entered I was greeted by the sight of all the cons and a giant wall of glass separating us from the men. I could just barely see Connor on the other side. As I hung somewhat close to Megan I saw a fight break out between Connor and some other guys. I could hear someone almost blow Connor's cover, but I had a feeling Megan stopped him. The fight didn't go on however. It seemed that someone stooped it, but whoever they were, they were sitting on the bench where I couldn't see them. I noticed junior walking over to the bench and Frost approached the glass.

'They must be discussing the plan.' I told Connor and Megan through the mind link.

'Yeah, it's a prison break. They're going to get the collars shut off and break out using their ice.' Since Connor was on the same side of the glass as them he could eavesdrop easily. I contemplated for a moment as I watched the group of ice villains talking. Occasionally I would see Frost and Junior glance my way.

'They're thinking about bringing you in on it Eira. They're saying that if you helped Frost that the two of you could be through the walls in a matter of minutes.'

'Thanks for the heads up Connor. I'll play my part if they try and bring me in on it.'

An apprehensive thought settled into my stomach. What if they tried to hurt someone. If we did anything to stop them we would be caught, but if we didn't people could get hurt.

'Megan. We need a back up plan in case one of us gets found out.'

'What do you mean?'

'When the breakout happens, what if they try and hurt someone and we stop them? We would be caught right then and there. We need a plan for just in case.'

'You do have a point. We don't have very long to think of something though. Your spell will be up in a few more hours. We need to get this figured out fast.'

We eventually went back to our cells and within another hour, clean jumpsuits were being dropped into the cells.

'The break is coming. Sooner than later.'

'Updating Aqualad now.'

As Megan and Superboy spoke I began to put on the new jumpsuit. It felt slightly different to the touch, but I couldn't explain how.

'Time to pull you out. Call in the league.'

'Icicle would just postpone. We need to learn how they plan on busting out or they'll just try again.'

'I agree with Megan. We need to know how.'

I could hear a sigh from Aqualad through the mind link.

'Agreed.'

I smiled inwardly to myself, but another pressing issue was brought up almost immediately.

'Eira, remember that the spell on you is only temporary. When it gets too close to your time, we will pull you out.'

'Understood.'

It was a short time before I heard Megan being pulled out of her cell to go to therapy. I was not looking forward to my session. How on earth was I supposed to convince a psychiatrist that I am a evil person.

'Megan, I came up with our backup. Between the two of us, if something happens, you need to be the one to help whoever needs it. If you need to, I'll volunteer to freeze you. I'll make sure to keep the temperature high enough to keep you alive. Should we tell Superboy?'

'He would never agree to that. We may need to keep this between us.'

'Got it. Remember to keep up your cover in therapy. I wouldn't trust any psychiatrist in this place. They did mention that the prison staff may be compromised. You never know who it could or couldn't be.'

'Don't worry. I'll do my best.'

After the brief exchange I was now left with just my own thoughts. With only a limited time left on my spell I had to either hope that something goes down soon, or give it a jump start. I pondered and pondered for the hour that Megan was in therapy, but came up with nothing. As soon as I heard the cell next door close I heard Megan once again.

'You're next. Good luck.'

'Thanks. I'm gonna need it.'

My cell door slowly opened and a guard pulled me out. I was led through multiple halls until we came to a room with "Dr. Hugo Strange" written on it. I was rather roughly pushed in and was greeted by the man who was at our "welcoming" ceremony.

"Welcome, please take a seat."

"So Ms. Evans, I want to jump right in to our session with a few simple questions. Is that all right with you?"

"I don't suppose I have a choice, do I?"

"There's always a choice. You could choose to remain silent in our session, but that benefits neither you or me. I highly recommend your participation."

"Yeah yeah, let's just get this over with."

"Thank you. Now firstly, it states in your file that you have a daughter that you gave up for adoption. I believe that this could be a trigger for your more recent outbursts over the passed few years. How about we discuss how this has effected you."

"I put her up for adoption because I didn't want a little brat tying me down. That was fifteen years ago. I couldn't care less about her."

I had to make myself as convincing as possible. I just wasn't sure if he believed me. He stared at me for a long moment before speaking again.

"It would appear in your most recent endeavours however, that you may be searching for her. Let's elaborate on that."

"Searching for her? Oh it appears you've simply got me figured all wrong. I'm not searching for her, I think the word 'luring' is better suited."

"Let's expand on that."

"Ah ah ah, not today doctor. I'm afraid that's all you're going to get out of me."

I smirked as I saw the doctor visibly deflate for a moment before calling in a guard to escort me out.

"This session was quite enlightening Ms. Evans, I look forward to our next one."

When I was finally back in my cell I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

'How did it go?'

I inwardly jumped hearing Megan's voice in my head.

'I think I was convincing. Hopefully he thought so too. Did I miss anything?'

'No. Nothing other than it being almost lunch time.'

'I guess we can use that time to try and get more information.'

Only a short time passed before lunch. We we in the women's mess hall before the next hour. I prompted Megan to sit separately from me so we wouldn't draw any attention. I sat relatively alone as did Megan. I did notice a few specific villains all sitting together, with Killer Frost seeming to be the 'leader'. I strained my ears to try and overhear anything but I was just too far away. The only thing I made out was Frost talking about it being not too much longer.

'I hope this is soon. I can feel this spell weakening.'

'From what I can tell, Frost isn't positive on how much longer. She just knows a general time.'

I glanced to Megan and gave an unnoticeable nod before standing up and throwing away the trash just as the guards walked in to take us back to our cells. Once we were locked away and sitting for a brief period I heard Connor's voice echo in my mind.

'It's going down now.'

My body went rigid as I heard the sirens blaring and saw the flashing red lights. I suddenly felt the weight on my chest lessen and vanish. I was quick to freeze the God forsaken collar and take it off before my cell mate charged through the door. I stepped out hesitantly and saw a large group attacking a guard. I made my way over, meeting with Megan along the way. The guard was thrown to the ground and was pleading for her life, but I knew Frost had no problems with killing. I gave a side glance to Megan before I watched her defend the woman. Immediately Frost turned toward her with a gave an evil smile.

"Well Tuppy aren't you just full of hidden talents."

I saw Megan raise her defence as Frost was about to make a move.

"Frost, let me handle her. There are better things for you to be doing." I spoke in the cold and harsh tone I knew my mother used. Frost seemed to believe me and began to move. Megan chased after Frost and I chased her. Throwing a few ice blasts and intentionally missing. Once we were in the laundry room I made a huge racket as I blasted Megan with ice. As she was being covered I began to explain.

'This ice has a higher temperature. It will break apart on its own in a few minutes.'

'Got it.'

Finally I had completely encased Megan in ice and I could hear Frost and another inmate working on the wall.

"Go round up the others, we're almost through." Frost demanded. I ran off back toward the cells and faintly heard the beeping of the collars turning back on and screaming from the electric shocks. As I saw more inmates falling one by one I took notice of the few who were smart enough to remove the collars. Before they could make a move I froze them in place. They all stared at me in surprise before they started cursing at me. I made my way back to where Frost was after I made sure every last convict was frozen in place. When I entered the room I was greeted with the sight of Frost knocked out and the ice I had covered Megan in was shattered. Icicle Jr. was standing off to the side with a disgusted look on his face as Connor kissed Megan.

"Dude! That's your sister!"

I smiled as I watched Megan revert back to her true form. Junior seemed to now be putting the pieces together.

"What...wait, is she...and are you...oh, dad's gonna kill me."

I felt a tingle ripple through my body as it slowly reverted back go it's normal appearance. I let out a sigh of relief and a smile.

"Man it feels good to be back to normal."

I don't think Junior could handle everything before he just sort of wandered back into the Men's side of the prison.

It didn't take long for us to be pulled out of the prison. Red Tornado and Kaldur seemed pretty eager to get us out. The flight home in the bishop was quiet, but I could feel happiness radiating off Connor and Megan in waves. It made me smile to myself thinking of just how happy they finally were.

"Did something happen inside Belle Reve?" Kaldur questioned, also feeling the air around us.

"Not really." I said with smile before glancing toward Connor and Megan.

"They just finally realized how important they are to one another."

I saw a faint blush cross Megan's cheeks as Connor looked away to hide his face.

"I see. That is good news to hear. I wish you both the best."

The two nodded and I gave a little giggle as we entered the cave. We headed to get a debriefing from Batman before we were all released for whatever we wanted. I would have normally just gone to bed, but maybe staying up and playing a few rounds of video games with Connor wouldn't hurt.


	11. Chapter 11: Museums and Parties

_**Hello everyone! I bet all of you are surprised about the quick update. Well when I write I typically write in spurts. I'll type up about two or three chapters then gradually post them, but I just really wanted to get this other one out. I'm going to be working on the next chapter so hopefully I'll be posting in about a week or two for another update. Like always thank you for being such loyal readers and followers. I appreciate all reviews and favorites. If anyone has any ideas on what you may want to see in the story then message me and I'll see about working them in!**_

 **Chapter 11: Museums and Parties**

It had been a few days since our last mission and school was just barely keeping me busy. Overall I was doing very well in history and English, but Math still eluded me. Connor would help me whenever I asked, but he wasn't patient enough with me when I would ask questions. Robin helped me after I would go to Connor and it would work out a bit better. He was good at using the math problems in ways that made sense to me. Today though, was different. Robin was busy with something with Batman. He wouldn't tell me what either. I tried getting into the Batcave computer, but I found absolutely nothing. I even tried asking Alfred, but he was as loose lipped as Robin. I knew asking Batman wasn't going to work for me, so I was forced to drop it for the time being. As I sat staring at my math problems I began to scribble in the margins. A few minutes, and scribbles later, Connor and Megan made their ways into the kitchen holding hands. Wracking my brain, I managed to answer a few more problems before I let my frustrations be known. I let out an exasperated sigh and a quiet growl followed.

"Trouble with your homework?" Megan question while letting go of Connor's hand and looking over my shoulder.

"Why is math so complicated?!" I said while letting my face fall on to my work in a rather pitiful manner.

"Oh come on. It's not that hard."

I glared up at Connor and he seemed to shy away a little.

"Says the guy with every bit of knowledge known to man in his head."

"I don't know everything." Was his only defense. A pitiful one too.

"Why don't you help her Connor?"

"Nope, we agreed that I won't help her anymore because I get mad too easily."

"It's not due for a few days anyway, so I'll just wait until Robin can help me."

"Why can't he help you today?" I glanced to Megan with a sigh.

"Apparently he is doing something with Batman today. Anyway, I'm over this for now. What are you two up to?"

"Nothing. Connor and I were thinking about going down to Happy Harbor to see a movie."

"Oh, you were gonna go on a date? Sounds great! You two have fun." Megan blushed at the mention of it being a date, but the two were soon on their way.

'I wonder what Artemis and Wally are up to?' I pulled out my phone and sent both of them a text asking if they were up for doing something. I was quickly shot down by Artemis, who said she had to do something with her mom. It took Wally about an hour to answer before he shot me down. He said he was being roped into doing something with his parents. I sighed knowing that besides those two, everyone else was busy.

'Maybe...' I thought while scrolling through my contacts and seeing Kaldur's number. I had never texted or called him before and just thinking about it made me nervous. I didn't know if he would be weirded out by me texting him out of the blue. Plus, what if he was home? Did his phone work underwater? I took a deep breath and opened a message to begin.

'Hey Kaldur. Nothing to do here at the cave. What're you up to?'

I hesitated with my finger over to send button. My biggest thing I hated about myself was how much I overthought things. And I was running through every possible situation and excuse not to send this message. I took one deep breath and gingerly tapped send. My stomach seemed to sink more and more as the seconds passed. After the longest minute of my life my phone pinged and I looked at the screen.

'Unfortunately I am in the same predicament as you. Perhaps I could come to the cave and we could keep each other company.'

I smiled at the properness of his writing, but butterflies soon danced into my stomach realizing it would just be us hanging out.

'Sure. Sounds great. See you soon. :)'

It only took Kaldur about ten minutes before he materialized from the zeta tubes. I was currently laying on the couch upside down, with my legs flung over the back of it.

"Is this what you do when you are bored?" Kaldur asked with a slight smile as he looked over the couch at my face. I laughed slightly while fixing myself in the couch.

"Sometimes. So did you have anything in mind that you wanted to do?"

Kaldur seemed to be thoughtful for a moment while glancing around the room.

"I am unsure. Perhaps we could go someplace you have not been able to go to?"

"I guess if that's what you'd like to do. Maybe we could go to a Natural History museum? Those are the ones with dinosaur exhibits right?" Kaldur chuckled and gave a slight nod before we both agreed on a museum to go to.

"I have heard that the Metropolis Natural History museum is one of the best in the world."

"Really? That sounds pretty cool."

We walked up to the museum and headed inside. Immediately we were greeted by a giant skeleton of a dinosaur smack in the middle of the large main room.

"Wow." I said, my mouth hanging open slightly in awe. I had only read about dinosaurs, never had I seen the skeleton of one before.

"This is awesome!" Kaldur chuckled at me at my child like enthusiasm. We were quick to go to the dinosaur exhibit and we spent a good few hours there. Kaldur wasn't completely familiar with a lot of the dinosaurs so I explained as many as I could to him. The rest of the museum wasn't overly exciting. The dinosaurs were really all I cared about. By the time we left it was already dark out and I was getting pretty hungry.

"Hey Kaldur, would you like to get something to eat before we head back?" Kaldur nodded and we headed to the nearest fast food place. It was a burger restaurant to my joy. We ordered our food and sat down at a table in the corner.

"Thanks for today Kaldur. I had so much fun!"

"I enjoyed myself today as well. How did you know so much about dinosaurs?"

I blushed lightly out of slight embarrassment.

"When I was at the orphanage I didn't do much as you could imagine. So I would go to the library and borrow books. Dinosaurs were always my favorites to read about, but whales and sharks were a close second." Our conversation continued back and forth as we ate and shared a few laughs. When we were done it was already 10 at night and the restaurant was closing. Once we were outside we were greeted by the cold September air that causes me to smile. From what I knew, I loved the cold even before I got my powers. We came upon the zeta tubes while in the midst of Kaldur telling me about how he became Aqualad. It was quite an exciting story and he had me so engrossed in it I almost walked face first into the entrance to the zetas.

"Wow Kaldur. That is a great story. My story isn't anywhere as exciting. Batman just caught me busting up one of the penguin's warehouses." We both gave a light chuckle before heading back to the cave. Since it was already late both Megan and Connor had already gone to sleep, so we were greeted by silence.

"Well I guess this is the end of our little adventure today. I had a lot of fun Kaldur. We should hang out again some time."

I could see a smile on Kaldur's lips before he responded.

"I agree. It was a nice distraction and I did enjoy myself. I look forward to the next time we...hang out." Hearing Kaldur test out the not so formal words while quite funny and a little bit adorable. His face showed the slight uncertainty and confusion when he spoke them.

"I'll see you later then Kaldur." I waved with a smile as he walked through the zeta tubes and was engulfed by light.

"Aww that's so cute! You and Kaldur are so adorable!" I jumped at the voice that seemed to come out of nowhere and spun around to see Megan floating in the kitchen.

"How long have you been there?"

"Not long, but long enough to see you and Kaldur talking."

My cheeks burned bright red out of embarrassment as I stuttered to find the right words of defense.

"W-we were just hanging out. We were both bored and everyone else was busy so we hung out. That's it." I folded my arms across my chest childishly and turned away to hide my face. Megan giggled at my antics before floating over to me.

"If you say so, but I still think you two make an adorable couple."

If it was even possible, I felt my face heat up even more before I bid Megan a quick good night and ran off to my room. Her words seemed to rattle around in my mind and was quickly followed by negative thoughts.

'It's not like he even likes me like that. How could someone like Kaldur even think twice about someone like me. I was too insecure and other than my powers I was completely ordinary and boring. I'm not pretty. People would see me and run the other way. Plus my family, even if he doesn't know, is the biggest hindrance.'

After my brief moment of nitpicking my flaws I let out a long sigh and laid down. While staring up at the dark tiling I could see small details in the way the metal swirled. Little pictures that I picked out would morph before my very eyes as I looked at it from a different angle.

'Maybe...maybe Kaldur could see something in me that I don't see myself though.'

Before it even hit 11 I was fast asleep in my comfy bed with happy thoughts of my adventure today playing in my head.

When I woke up the next day it was around 9 o'clock. There was no mission again and my homework still eluded me. I didn't want to call on Kaldur again just to stay entertained, but I had a feeling today would be just like yesterday. I was now just sitting in the kitchen staring off into space to try and occupy my mind with daydreams. Not too much later, Megan and Connor emerged from their rooms and seemed to be discussing something while entering the kitchen. They stopped when they noticed my spaced out expression.

"Eira, are you alright?"

I snapped my head toward Megan's voice, effectively coming out of my daydream.

"Oh sorry Megan, I was just lost in thought."

She smiled briefly before getting to work on breakfast.

"So what are your plans for today?" I asked Megan as ingredients floated around the kitchen.

"Nothing much. I'll just probably stay around the cave today."

"Sounds exactly like what I'm gonna be doing today."

I saw Megan smile as she cooked and pretty shortly after breakfast was ready. It was delicious! She made pancakes, waffles, bacon and eggs. As we ate, Megan and Connor talked about working on his motorcycle later. They invited me to help, but I politely declined. I wasn't interested in becoming a third wheel. Once breakfast was over the zeta tubes came to life and Robin walked through in his street clothes. I smiled at my brother ad he walked straight up to me with a mischievous grin.

"Are you busy today?" I stared at his mischief filled face and answered with apprehension in my voice.

"Not particularly. Why?"

"Perfect, then you get to come with me!"

He grabbed my hand and started pulling me to the zeta tubes. As we walked through we exited in the Batcave and Robin released me.

"Alright, so Bruce is throwing a party tonight, and you're the honorary guest."

"What?!" I said surprisingly loud. I did NOT do parties. There was no way I was going to be doing this.

"No way Dick! I am not doing it."

"Come on Eira. It's mostly just for formalities. Bruce had one for me when I first started living with him. It's more because the news is all over trying to get information on the kid that Bruce Wayne adopted. It's kind of just introducing you and that's it."

"I really don't like parties. I'm completely awkward and I don't know what go do with myself. Plus I won't know anyone there except you and Bruce."

"It'll be alright. You can just hang out with me all night. You can even meet Barbara. She's great." He placed a reassuring hand in my shoulder and squeezed lightly. I bit my lip nervously and finally nodded in defeat.

"Perfect!" He said happily while beginning yo push me toward the elevator.

"Alfred is waiting in your room to help you with what you're going to wear and Bruce got a hair stylist to do your hair and maybe your make up too. Have fun!"

Once I was shoved into the elevator the doors closed quickly and I could feel a panic setting in.

'Crap, what did I just get myself into.'

When the elevator stopped I was greeted by Alfred waiting for me.

"Dick said you would be in my room?"

"I was miss, however I believed that once you found out everything that would be occurring that you may attempt an escape."

I paused while staring wide eyed at Alfred.

"Dang, you know me too well Alfred."

"Indeed. Now shall we go Miss Eira?"

"Lead the way Alfred."

We walked in silence to my room and as the door opened I noticed three dresses laid out on my bed.

"Please select a dress and let me know when you are ready so I can send in someone for your hair." I nodded before the door wad closed and I approached the dresses. They weren't too bad looking. There were two floor length dresses and one knee length. The knee length was a lavender color with a tool skirt that poofed out slightly. It had somewhat wide straps and a modest v-neck. It struck me more as a short prom dress. The first of the long dresses was black and very Greek goddess looking. It was airy and moved well. The straps were slightly thinner than the lavender dress and it had a cowl neckline. The final dress was a light blue and had a form fitting bust and a flowing bottom. It was strapless with a beautiful lace up back and a sweetheart neckline. The skirt had the same airy quality as the black dress, but it didn't poof out like the lavender one. I picked the light blue one and slipped it on. It was slightly long on me, but otherwise the fit was like a glove. I saw the shoes that we're paired with it and they were beautiful. They were strappy silver heels that would give me an extra two inches. They buckled around my ankle and sparkled in the light. Once I was dress I called out to Alfred to let him know I was done. A few minutes later a woman with beautiful gold hair and a slim figure walked in. She smiled at me with her red lips and green eyes.

"Hi there sweetheart. Let's get you all done up for this party of yours." She sat me down in front of the vanity and placed multiple bags of things around me. I watched her pull all manners of strange looking objects put of those bags. It felt like hours when she finally finished poking and prodding me. When I saw myself in the mirror I almost didn't recognize myself. My hair was in beautiful spiral curls and pinned up in an elegant fashion. The make up I wore was light and complimentary. I was relieved seeing that she didn't want to cake it on. My lips were a light pink from the gloss and the eyeliner and mascara really brought attention to my eyes. I just sat there staring at myself, my mouth hanging open slightly.

"Aren't you the most beautiful young lady I've even seen. And I barely had to do anything." I smiled at the woman as she began to exit the room.

"Thank you so much."

"Oh sweetheart it was a priveledge to get to work on you. You look perfect and don't let anyone tell you otherwise." She waved good bye while heading out the door. I heard a faint knock as I stood up from my seat and I called for the person to come in.

Dick opened the door and paused immediately when we saw me standing there.

"Wow. You look amazing."

I blushed lightly at the compliment and smiled.

"Thanks Dick. So I'm guessing it's time for the party?"

"Yeah. I came up to get you to walk you down."

"I have a feeling I'm gonna make a fool of myself. I'll probably fall face first down the stairs or something."

Dick chuckled before linking his arm with mine and beginning to lead the way.

"Do you really think your brother would let you do that?" He had a mocking grin on his face as we neared the ballroom.

"I don't know. You do love seeing Wally make a fool of himself." Dick laughed at my home as we stood in front of the door to enter the hall. I could hear the fancy music playing through it.

"True, but I'd never let something like that happen to you."

"Aww, my little brother is so sweet." I said in a cutesy voice while pinching his cheek. He swatted my hand away and playfully glared at me.

"Haha, put on a smile. Time to head in."

We pushed the doors open and a hush filled the room. The music was still playing quietly, but hundreds of eyes were now on the two of us. I forced a smile on my lips and muttered to Dick.

"I think I'm going to have a heard attack."

"You'll be fine. Just focus on walking down the stairs."

I refocused my attention on the stairs in front of us. They seemed a mile long, but in reality it was only about 20 steps. I was apparently holding my breath, because Dick nudged my side and told me to breathe. Once we were off the stairs, Bruce walked up to us and placed a calming hand in my vacant shoulder. He smiled at me then turned to face the crowd.

"Thank you everyone for coming this evening. As you all know this ball is to comemorate and welcome my new daughter Eira to the family. As well as to introduce her to you all. I ask that you please be respectful and mindful of any boundaries she sets. As you all may well imagine, it is easy to overwhelm someone at such a party. Please enjoy yourselves and this wonderful evening."

"Nice speech. I can see why you're a businessman." I said quietly through a fake smile.

"It's taken years of practice. Now you two are free to wander about."

We both nodded and unlinked our arms, proceeding to walk about the party being greeted by multiple snobby rich people. I was inwardly mocking how fake these people really were. It was even worse when I could tell people were trying to set me up with their son or grandson. I would immediately shy away toward Dick would escort me away quickly.

"Are all rich people like this? Trying to pawn off their kids or grandkids to improve their standing in society?"

"Pretty much. You should have seen my party. There were old ladies trying to set me up with their 20 year old granddaughters." I shook my head in disgust for those people. Their blatant means of attempting to climb the social ladder was sickening. Using their own family to try and get what they want.

"Not everyone here is bad though. I just saw Barbara, I'll introduce you."

We walked over to a young lady, probably about my age, standing by an older man who I recognized as Police Commisioner Gordon. She turned and smiled when she saw us walking up.

"Hi there, I'm Barbara. It's nice to meet you Eira."

"Its nice to meet you too Barbara." I shook her hand with the first genuine smile I had given the whole party. She seemed really nice, and there was something about her that made me feel like she was someone I didn't need to hide anything from. Commissioner Gordon talked to me for a short time and it was obvious that he was a great man. He had a look in his eye that could set me at ease and make you feel safe. I couldn't place it at the time, but I think it was the look of a father. Barbara, Dick, and I managed to slip away after about an hour. We all gathered in the game room and just sat around telling jokes. We played a couple board games and watched a movie before Alfred came looking for us.

"Master Dick, Miss Eira, Miss Gordon, the party has concluded. I suggest we head back down to the hall."

"Okay Alfred." We all said in unison while getting up and heading back. Once we were back, Bruce was saying his last good byes to some if the guests. The last person was the commissioner and when he spotted Barbara he bid Bruce good bye as well and they left.

"Sneaking away from your own party isn't necessarily the best way to make a good impression."

I smiled coyly at Bruce while trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Well when old ladies are trying to set you up with their grandsons can you blame me?"

Bruce smiled and nodded before patting me on the head gently, being careful not to mess up my hair.

"You can go home for the evening if you want. There are no missions so you can relax." I smiled and nodded before heading down to the Batcave. The zeta tube was ready to go like always and within the blink of an eye I was back in the cave. When the blinding yellow light faded I was greeted by a sight I wasn't expecting. I had almost walked face first into Kaldur and Wally. I stared at the two in surprise and they returned the look. It took a moment for someone to finally gain enough composure to speak.

"Wow Eira, you look great!" I looked at Wally who had a giant grin on his face.

I felt a blush heat up my face as I quickly realized that I should have changed before coming home.

"I agree." Kaldur said sheepishly, covering his mouth with his fist. I wasn't sure, but I thought I saw a light blush on his face. Wonderful. Kaldur was just as embarrassed as I was. And Wally just had to make it worse!

"T-thanks." I stuttered before slipping by them and escaping to my room. When my door was closed I quickly got out of the dress and shoes and carefully hung everything up. I changed into my pjs and stared at my meticulously done hair and felt a little bad taking it apart. As the curls gracefully fell back down to their normal places, I felt at least a little more like myself again. I managed to get my make up off with little to no problem and laid down. I looked at my alarm clock and it read 9 at night. My stomach then rather loudly growled at me and I sat back up.

"I forgot to eat at the party." I grumbled while kicking off my blankets and walking out of my room. As I made my way to the kitchen I could faintly hear Connor and Megan talking. When I came around the corner the two noticed me immediately.

"Hi guys." I said while waving my hand lazily.

Connor gave a small wave back and Megan seemed to perk up.

"Hi Eira, we heard you just got home from a party?"

"I wouldn't call it a party. Just a gathering of rich people with no idea of what human decency is." I didn't mean for any type of disgust or venom to come out when I spoke, but my harshness was obvious.

"What do you mean?" Megan looked rather confused about my tone and what I said.

"People were trying get me to date their sons and grandsons. It was obvious that they didn't care about anyone's happiness. They were just greedy and power hungry. Sometimes humans are horrible beings, but I suppose every race and species has people like that."

Megan nodded with a sad look in her face.

"On Mars it is mostly frowned upon, however there are many who still participate. Those who do simply do it to try and secure power and influence. It's not right, but unfortunately some people just don't see that." The mood had grown heavy and I could tell that Connor was a little uncomfortable now.

"I'm sorry I brought all my negativity with me. I just came to grab something to eat really fast." Megan's face brightened as she handed me a plate with a ham and cheese sandwich on it with some chips.

"Sorry, I read your mind when you were walking over here and figured I'd make it for you."

"Thanks Megan." Normally everyone would have jumped down Megan's throat for reading our minds without permission, but I didn't mind this too much. I took my plate to my room and ate quickly before I laid back down. Now that I was well fed and exhausted, sleep should have come easily, but still I laid awake. Whatever occupied my mind was elusive and I just couldn't calm it enough for sleep to greet me.

"Great. Just what I needed. A sleepless night."


	12. Chapter 12: The Reds and the Mole

**_Greetings! So the first thing I need to touch on is the length of this chapter. It is a loooong one only because I had to combine two episodes into one chapter. A whopping 6,294 words. The Homefront episode was extremely Robin and Artemis centric and unfortunately Eira does not go to school with either of them, so I couldn't add length there. The majority of my chapters are typically around 4500 words and I will keep it around that count after this chapter. I hope everyone enjoys. Please review! I would also like to personally thank both Star-The-Writer and ladybug02 for always posting reviews. I look forward to reading reviews to get everyone's opinion and seeing you both always reviewing makes me very happy!_**

 **Chapter 12: The Reds and the Mole**

School had been pretty boring today. Nothing new or exciting. I was beginning to wonder if we were all just going to be stuck in these boring trivial things. When Connor, Megan and I came back to the cave I made my way to the kitchen. I forgot to pack my lunch today and was super hungry. As I rummaged through the fridge I heard the zeta tubes whir to life an call out Wally. I glanced up and smiled as Wally walked in.

"Hey Wally. How was school?"

"A total drag, like usual. What about you?"

"Same. Didn't learn much today. So what're you up to?"

"I haven't seen you guys much since there haven't been any missions, so I decided to stop by."

"Well that was nice of you. Megan and Connor are looking at Connor's bike if you want yo go say hi."

"They sure work on that thing a lot. Maybe I should show them the right way to fix it."

I giggled quietly knowing exactly what they were actually doing.

"Sure. Go ahead and show them how to do it right. I'll be here eating. Here."

I threw Wally a sandwich I had made and started making another.

"Thanks Eira. You totally get me."

"Quick question. If you came to just say hi, why are you in your suit?"

"I was kinda hoping we might get a mission. But you can never be too prepared." He and I shared a laugh before he walked off. Once I was done making my sandwich the zeta tube lit up again and Kaldur walked through also in his suit.

"Hey Kaldur, did you come hoping for a mission too?"

"No. I came to speak to Red Tornado actually. Have you seen him?"

"Not since I got home. But then again when he's in his apartment upstairs I never know if he's here."

Kaldur simply nodded and walked over to the computer, beginning to type a few things in. I headed toward the garage, knowing that when Red Tornado would show that Kaldur most likely wanted to speak to him in private. When I found everyone else they were crowded around Connors bike and Wally was working on it. I walked up to everyone and quietly watched Wally work. I leaned up close to Megan's ear and whispered.

"So did the two love birds get caught?"

Megan blushed about ten different shades of red before shaking her head no.

"Sphere warned us."

I giggled a little and Wally looked up at me from his work.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing. I was just remembering something from school."

Wally shrugged and went back to work.

I saw Kaldur walk up shortly after right when Wally was asking for a torque wrench. I saw it float over to him and Wally made a flirty comment to Megan.

"I have been meaning to ask. Any problems juggling schoolwork with your responsibilities here?"

"Nope. Not me. My teachers don't give too much homework."

"No." Was Connor's simple reply.

"Juggling's just one of my many talents. Socket wrench."

I rolled my eyes at Wally while Megan began to speak.

"Daily cheerleading practice has presented a challenge. Oh, but my first loyalty is always to the team. This team, not the bumblebees."

"Artemis starts school today. Do you think she will have trouble maintaining her loyalties?"

"I don't think she'll have any trouble. She loyal to the team, but I know she wouldn't let her schoolwork slip either."

"I agree with Eira, she'll manage alright. I mean how much more hostile and annoying.."

Suddenly an explosion sent me flying through the air. I hit the floor hard and shakily sat up. The dust was billowing around the room and I began coughing. I stood up only to have a wave of water smack into me. When my vision was clear everyone was beginning to run in different directions, so I followed after Kaldur and Megan. They seemed to be trying to get to higher ground. However we were quickly cut off by a blaze of fire. Within a brief moment I was lifted into the air by a tentacle of water and thrown in a random direction. As I was sailing through the air I saw our opponents. Two robots, that looked exactly like Red Tornado. One was a female robot who was controlling fire, and the other was a male robot controlling the water. As I crashed into a wall I slid down into a sitting position.

My back was burning from the impact and I was fighting to catch my breath. I could faintly see everyone putting forth their best efforts, but it clearly wasn't enough. When I finally found my footing and breath again I shakilu stood up and took aim at the closest robot. It was the male one. I shot ice at it, but it simply knocked the ice out of the way with its water. Another tentacle of water shot towards me and I had to think fast. I took a deep breath and breathed out cold air at the water, causing it to freeze instantly. It still had some momentum so I had to side step it, but the minute I did I felt a searing pain in my side and I was sent flying again. When I hit the ground my vision was blurry from the pain, but I managed to look at my left side and saw a huge scorch mark on my ribs. The pain was horrible as I laid there. I tried to use my ice powers to cool it, but I couldn't focus enough. I could faintly hear someone calling my name, but it all sounded muffled. I laid down in a daze while scanning the room. I could see Kaldur and Megan encased in a cage of fire and Connor and Wally covered in a weird rock just above the water. I tried to force myself to sit up, but I was suddenly surrounded by horrible heat. I looked and was greeted by the same flame bars that surrounded Kaldur and Megan. I groaned as a sweat started to break out across my forehead. I was still somehow maintaining consciousness as I watched the two robots look away for a moment then leave. I couldn't move with this heat and all I could hear was my own groans of pain. The flames seemed to be the only things I could focus on. A few minutes later I could hear a voice over the intercom.

"Attention Robin. Attention Atemis. You have exactly 10 minutes to surrender, or the lives of your teammates will be extiguished."

I saw the robots return finally as I managed enough strength to pull myself up into a sitting position. The female robot floated over toward Kaldur and Megan for a moment and the flames surrounding them grew stronger. I could see Megan was already unconscious and Kaldur was just barely holding on. The robot the hovered over to me and did the same. I cringed at the increased heat wanting to just lay down again, but knowing if I did that I wouldn't be getting back up.

"Nine minutes and forty five seconds." I heard a rush of water and attempted to look toward Wally and Connor. Water was slowly inching up their bodies and I knew if we didn't do something soon that they would drown. I tried to pull every bit of energy I could from inside me, but all I managed to get was a slight clod breeze to ripple in the air. I saw Kaldur relax for just a moment as the cold battled the flames down slightly, but the flames grew stronger again. My breathing was now labored as I tried to suck in as much air as possible. I was starting to get light headed again.

"Eight minutes." I heard the countdown and cringed. I suddenly heard gasps of air as the female robot shot fireballs toward the water.

"Look out!" Wally yelled as I saw the steam shoot into the air.

"You guys okay?"

"Forget us. Help M'gann." I looked down and saw both Artemis and Robin in the water next to Wally and Connor.

"Aqualad, is she.."

"She is unconscious. I fear she...we cannot survive much longer. Eira is also injured."

I couldn't find my voice as a fresh wave of pain from my burn shot through me. I got my teeth and collapsed onto my stomach. I was now staring at the flame bars and the other cage, unable to see far enough over the edge to spot anyone else. I heard the sizzle of fire hitting water again before my vision started to darken.

"Eira, hold on." Kaldur called as my consciousness slipped more.

"I...can't. It's too...hot." I whispered out before the darkness claimed me.

When I finally regained consciousness Robin was hovering above me.

"Eira, are you alright?"

I groaned as I sat up and was greeted by the burn on my side. I gasped in pain and lightly clutched to spot.

"A little burned and battered, but I think I'll survive." I managed to get out as Robin helped me to my feet. We all headed down the stairs to Wally and Connor after Megan and Kaldur were up. Robin was supporting my weight as I focused my powers on cooling the burn. It was working for now, but I knew I would need to have it looked at by Alfred or Batman. As we all gathered around Connor and Wally, Robin began to speak.

"Figured my only shot was to surrender, pretend to drown before I actually did. Blacked out, though."

"M'gann." I heard Connor say while reaching his hand to her. She took it with a smile and reassured him that she would be fine. Artemis was holding something to cut both Connor and Wally free, but it wasn't working. I glanced at the others and saw the sheer relief on all of their faces. When I looked at Kaldur he was watching me.

"Is your injury severe?"

"It's not too bad. My powers can soothe it, but I'll definitely need to see Batman about it. I think it's a second degree burn at the worst."

Kaldur nodded but I could see the concern in his eyes.

"I'll be okay. I've taken a worse beating than this before."

I glanced back to Artemis as she continued to try and get the machine working.

"Will you quit playing with that thing and cut us free already?"

"It's not working, genius. EMP shuts down all machines, remember?"

I shook my head at Wally and Artemis' arguing right before I heard a familiar voice.

"All machines present at the time."

Red Tornado came flying up to us and I felt my body relax slightly.

"What has occured?"

I pulled my arm from around Robin's shoulder and now stood on my own, loosely placing a hand on my burn.

"Had a little visit from your family." Robin seemed relatively calm, however Artemis seemed livid.

"Your extremely nasty family."

I was not aware I had relations."

"Where have you been?" Connor asked while Red Tornado began to walk toward the robots laid out on the floor.

"Monitor duty on the watch tower. When it became clear cave communications were down I attempted to investigate, but your zeta tubes were also nonfunctional. I transported to Providence and proceeded here."

Suddenly Sphere began to whir to life and the machine Artemis was holding started up.

"The pulse has worn off." Both Robin and Wally said together. They looked to Red Tornado with the other robots and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. Something felt wrong. I saw Red Tornado reach to touch the hand of one of them, but before I could say anything I saw a spark between their fingers. Red Tornado suddenly turned around and floated up into the air, forming tornadoes that began to suck the oxygen from the air around us. We all began to gasp for air as one by one everyone passed out. I was awoken again, but by Batman this time. I groaned as he helped me stand up and walk me over to Robin.

"Are you two alright?"

Robin nodded, but I cringed slightly.

"Got a little burned, but otherwise okay. I don't think it's severe. Some ointment and bandages should do the trick." Batman took a moment to inspect the burn and determined it was minor. The ointment would suffice.

"What happened here?" I heard Superman asking Artemis.

"What happened? The Reds happened. Tornado and his..wait, where are they?"

"Gone. All three of them. Gone." Robin said while turning to face her. After everything was explained to the league Black Canary took me to the med room and got me bandaged up.

"Are you sure you're alright Eira? You all took a pretty bad beating, and from what I heard you can't handle heat very well."

"I'll be fine. The heat wasn't pleasant, but I still came out alright."

She seemed apprehensive, but let me go all the same. As I walked out of the med room, I wobbled slightly. I needed some water, that was for sure. I walked to join the others at the table set up for us. When I came in, I could tell the mood was pretty sour. I watched Green Arrow place a bowl of pretzels on the table as I sat down.

"Thanks, but no thanks."

"Yeah, what we want are answers about Red Tornado and his siblings."

"Exactly!"

I watched Green Arrow pick up the bowl of pretzels to take then away, but Wally was quick to stop him.

"Leave the bowl." He mumbled and began to eat them.

I glanced at everyone at the table and noticed Kaldur was off to the side speaking with Batman just out of range of our hearing. I did notice however, that Connor was paying close attention to them. His super hearing could probably pick up what they were talking about. I suddenly saw Connor go stiff and charge at Kaldur.

"You knew?!" He shouted while grabbing Kaldur's shirt. "That Android and his maniac family nearly killed M'gann!" I watched Megan immediately get up and fly quickly over. I wasn't too far behind.

"Connor, what are you doing?" Megan asked while landing next to him.

"Kaldur knew we had a traitor among us and said nothing!"

Everyone else walked up and began with their questions.

"Guys, I'm sure Kaldur has his reasons." I tried to call everyone down, but it didn't seem to be working.

"I sought to protect the team from.."

"Protect us from what? Knowledge that might have saved our lives?"

"You almost died." Connor said turning his head to look at Megan.

"Enough." Batman said and narrowed his eyes at Connor. Connor released his grip on Kaldur and stared at Batman. "With Red Tornado missing, the team will now be overseen by rotating supervisors. Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift."

A large man I had never seen before walked up and was smiling. I got an odd feeling from him.

"I'm really looking forward to hanging out with you guys."

The way he spoke reminded me of a child. I was odd to me to say the least. Everyone looked at one another and I think they had the same idea as me.

"After I dismantle Red Tornado, you and I are gonna..." I could hear Connor threatening Kaldur right as Batman walked up.

"Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League. That makes him a League responsibility. You will leave him to us. I have another assignment for this team." Batman turned around and the computer activated, displaying a newspaper headline.

"Gotham Mayor attacked by Guerilla Gorilla?" Wally sounded frustrated when he read the headline out loud.

' Is this the only thing he could find to distract us?' Connor questioned in the mind link.

"Batman, please! Tell me you're not sending us on this joke of a wild ape chase." I cringed knowing that Batman would not be okay with Robin referring to this mission as a joke. Everything was completely serious with him, especially missions.

"I never joke about the mission. I've checked the sources. I've studied the patterns. Mayor Hill's encounter is only the latest in a series of incidents. Aqualad, you and your team will depart for India and check this out."

I watched Kaldur nod before everyone started to go toward the hangar. I could hear Wally make a snide remark as he passed Kaldur. When everyone had walked on I stopped and places a reassuring hand on Kaldur's shoulder.

"I'm sure they'll come around soon Kaldur." He stared at me for a moment and I saw the frustration and slight sadness in his eyes. He nodded silently before we continued on. Of course Wally had another remark right before we got on the bioship. I was already getting tired of what was going on. It took us a little time before we arrived and the flight there was completely silent. After Artemis and Robin had been dropped and the ship landed, the rest of us left the ship. We were given the all clear from Robin and Artemis before Kaldur activated his stealth tech.

"Switch to stealth and we'll review mission paramenters."

Wally activated his stealth mode as told, but had a few things he wanted to say.

"Parameters? We don't need no stinkin' parameters."

"It's recon. We know what to do."

"Would you two just stop it. We're on a mission. Quit acting petty." I was fed up with dealing with their attitudes. I was not about to let it go on.

"Acting petty? Eira, you got hurt, how could you not be upset?" Robin was the person to question, though it was obvious he thought I was being stupid by not being mad.

"I'm sure Kaldur had his reasons for not saying anything. You're all just refusing to try and see that."

"Whatever." Both Robin and Wally turned and began to walk away.

"Kid, Robin.." I could hear how this was bothering Kaldur in his voice. The two stopped and turned around to face Kaldur.

"The three of us started this team because the Justice League was keeping secrets from us."

"Or did you forget that like you forgot to tell is about the mole?" The two of them turned and ran off afterwards. I could see Connor walking up to Megan out of the corner of my eye. I saw him grab her arm and tug.

"Come on. I'll keep you safe." I immediately saw the angered look on Megan's face as she pulled her away and crossed them over her chest. It was obvious she was speaking telepathically to him and I'm guessing she was really mad.

"I'm just trying to protect you." Connor said with a surprised look on his face.

"Like Aqualad protected us? I'm not sure your protection or your patronizing is good for our health." I shook my head because everything was now starting to get out of hand. We were all fighting amongst ourselves and we were not going to be able to accomplish anything like this.

"Are you coming Eira?" Artemis asked as they started walking away.

"No, I'll stay here."

"Suit yourself." She said before they were out of sight. Connor was quick to point the finger after they left.

"Why didn't you stop them? You're supposed to be in charge."

"You didn't necessarily make them want to be here." I grumbled while following Megan's example and crossing my arms over my chest. Kaldur went to defend himself, but Connor did a jump and he was gone.

"Um, did I miss the part where you actually said what the plan was?" Kaldur simply sighed at Captain Marvel's question before picking a direction. I followed after the two of them in silence, quietly feeling my frustrations growing. I quickly noticed that while I was in thought I was quickly falling behind. Captain Marvel had taken to the sky right above us to try and spot anything ahead. When I caught back up to Kaldur and was walking beside him I expected quiet, but to my surprise Kaldur spoke.

"Eira, why are you not angry with me?"

I jumped slightly, having not expected him to say anything.

"Why would I be? I know you had your reasons for not saying anything. Plus, I trust you Kaldur. I know you would never do something to intentionally hurt us."

I saw Kaldur's eye slightly wide at my words, then a smile crossed his face.

"Thank you Eira. I appreciate your trust. I never would have thought I would lose everyone else's."

"No matter what Kaldur, you'll always have mine. You're more than just a leader. You're a friend. One of my best friends."

"Thank you. You are one of mine as well." He said with that same smile before we continued in silence once again. It was a few more minutes before Captain Marvel landed near us and knelt down.

"Guess this is where Mayor Hill's monkey business went down. So at least we've confirmed his story right?" I nodded and knelt down as well, inspecting the tiger prints.

"Aqualad?" Captain Marvel questioned as Kaldur continued walking forward. Kaldur stopped and turned back around to face Captain Marvel.

"My apologies, Captain. I am...plagued by doubts. Perhaps I was wrong to withold." Out of the blue we could hear loud thumps and bushes rustling. I was on my feet in a second and preparing for a fight. As the rumbling grew louder a huge elephant came lumbering out of the trees. Captain Marvel immediately met it head on with a thundering noise, but he was quickly tossed into the trunk of a nearby tree. Another elephant emerged from the trees and they blocked us in. I looked to Kaldur who was completely focused on his elephant. The elephants began to charge at us and Kaldur and I quickly began dodging. On one of Kaldur's dodges he was smacked to the ground by Captain Marvel. I managed to barely avoid my elephant smacking me, only to be hit by the one that was attacking Kaldur.

I was also sent flying, landing on the ground directly next to Captain Marvel. We all managed to get to our feet before the elephants could trample us and Captain Marvel even knocked one away. However, the second elephant knocked him out of the air, leaving me and Kaldur once again to contend with the giant. As we stared up at the elephant I noticed something familiar looking around it's neck. It seems Kaldur noticed it too because he took out his water bearers and sliced the collar off. Once the collar was removed the elephant paused then turned and began to walk away.

"Remove the collar!" Kaldur called to Captain Marvel as I ran down and began to slice at the collar with my ice.

"On it." Captain Marvel said and flew around, breaking the collar off. When the collar was removed I flipped of the back of the elephant and landed softly on the grass. I heard the elephant crush the collar under its feet and start to walk away. I walked over to Kaldur and watched the elephants leave. Captain Marvel landed and began his congratulations.

"Pretty sweet the way you figured out the problem was the collars."

"But the collars indicate an intelligence behind the attacks. The rest of the team may also be at risk." Kaldur's hand shot up to his comm as he tried to contact everyone.

"Team, report status.." I heard the high pitched squeak of the comm and flinched.

"Ugh, comm is jammed. And Miss Martian failed to establish a telepathic link before we split up."

"Actually, you let everyone split up before communications were set." I stared at Captain Marvel, confused as to why he was blaming Kaldur.

"They would not listen!"

"I guess. But back at the cave Batman stopped everyone from arguing with one word."

"Because Batman is...Batman."

"Hey, you don't have to tell me. When I first joined the league all he did was boss me around. And it's hard not to take it personally. But... I never disobeyed an order and that's probably what kept me alive." I could see that Captain Marvel's words were sinking in and Kaldur was understanding.

"Batman take command. He has to...for the good of the League. Thank you for helping me understand."

"Hey, wisdom of Solomon." Cap said while touching his head.

'Aqualad, can you hear me?'

"Yes Miss Martian, report."

'Artemis and I were attacked by animals wearing inhibitor collars like those used on convicts at Belle Reve prison.'

"Cool, the tiger! I'll be right back!" Cap said before running off after the tiger.

"Captain, wait!" Kaldur called, but it was too late. I saw his face drop and he mumbled to himself.

"Hey, speed of Mercury."

"What do we do now Kaldur?" He seemed in thought for a moment.

'Miss Martian, I need a telepathic link-up with the entire team, now.'

'Link established.' It was nice to have the link up. At least now we could communicate. My happiness was short lived though, because the bickering began again.

'Should you really still be giving us orders? And should you still be following them?'

'Listen! Please!' Kaldur's voice held his desire for everything to cease with the distrust.

'Oh. Good. Aqualad's voice in my head. I so missed that.'

'Hey Kaldur, K.F. and I were just attacked by giant vultures. Course since we're moles, you probably think we attacked ourselves.'

'If he did, he wouldn't tell you.' Kaldur and I were walking now, looking for signs of Cap. I was attempting to tune out the complaining and bickering, but it was difficult. Kaldur and I emerged from some tall shrubbery and spotted three pylons in a triangle. Leading away were tracks that showed someone being dragged. We both knelt down to inspect the prints, but the bickering was becoming louder. I growled in frustration and was about to say something she Kaldur finally snapped.

'Enough!' Kaldur called into the mind link before tearing one of the pylons out of the ground. I stared at him in shock for a moment before he continued.

'Captain Marvel has been captured and we must act as a team to save him.'

Wally was the only one to have a retort.

'Hmph, under your leadership? I don't think...'

'This is not up for debate. You all chose me to lead. When the mission is over, if you wish to select a new leader I will happily step down. But until that time, I am in command here.'

I stared wide eyed at Kaldur. I had never heard him use such an assertive tone. It was a shock to everyone apparently because there wasn't a single complaint in the link. Kaldur threw the pylons he was holding on the ground and began to walk off. I quickly jogged after him until I was right next to him.

"Wow Kaldur. I've never heard you so assertive before."

"This mission is far more important than our disagreements. Especially now that Captain Marvel has been kidnapped. Captain helped me see that in times like this I must take charge, because no one else will. Others could get hurt, and I will not let that happen."

"Alright. I'm will you one hundred percent."

We all finally met up as we approached a facility surrounded by the same pylons as the ones Kaldur and I found. We were all perched and ready for anything when Megan spoke.

'I'll fly over.'

'Negatory. The field extends like a domebover the whole compound.' Kid Flash was the fastest to shoot down her idea.

'Pylons are insulated but one good shock could cause a momentary gap.' Robin thankfully had thought of a solution.

'I see a target.' Artemis called as I focused my eyes on the switch I knew she was spotting.

'Then be ready to hit it. Be ready, all of you.' I nodded my head as I saw Kaldur begin to run toward the force field. He stopped and the tattoos on his arms lit up. As he touched the fore field electricity sparked and I saw him gradually making a small hole in it and forcing it open enough for Artemis to shoot.

'Now!' Wally called in the mind link. Artemis shot and I watched as the pylons turned off. We all quickly ran down and got inside the pylons, not sure if they would turn back on. As we all approached I saw a baboon with a collar on and it began to scream, warning others that we were there. More baboons began to appear one by one and we all began to fight.

"Remove their collars!" Kaldur called out.

"Sounds easy when he says it." Robin grumbled while fighting off two baboons.

My baboon was quick and almost got me a few times before I managed to freeze it's collar and break it. When it was free, it quickly ran off. It took me a moment to notice that I agent seen Megan. As if answering my question I saw Wally running toward I gorilla.

"Get your paws off her, you darn dirty ape."

Wally crashed into the gorilla but was sent flying back from the impact. Megan quickly regained consciousness and I could tell she was ready to fight. I watched with quiet satisfaction as she threw the ape through a wall. We all ran in and spotted the lab within.

"It's the brain!' Wally said as we looked at the brain in a tank.

"Ugh, I can see it's a brain." Artemis retorted back.

"Not a brain, The Brain."

"In the flesh, so to speak." It rolled closer to the gorilla and turned to it.

"Mallah." The gorilla held something in its hand and presses a button. Pylons sprung up around us and I felt my body go limp. We all fell to the ground, but thankfully Kaldur was prepared.

'Miss Martian, Superboy, now.'

I watched the switch levitate put of the Mallah's hand and float over to Megan. Within a moment my body felt normal again and I was standing. Superboy then busted through a wall with a giant white wolf at his side. The white wolf charged in and jumped on Mallah, causing him to fall. He stood back up right as Wally ran up and kicked him. He fired shots from his gun but they were all missing. Robin then swung down, kicking him in the face right before Megan lifted him into the air and slammed him down. He continued to fire at us as I shot ice spears at him, causing his gun to completely freeze over. We all continued to hammer away at Mallah little by little, trying our best to take him down. Kaldur was taking care of The Brain, but I could hear the lasers being fired.

When I looked over I saw a laser just barely miss Kaldur. I quickly threw some ice over toward The Brain and it blocked one of the lasers that could have actually hit Kaldur. When Kaldur had his chance he ran over and freed Captain Marvel right as we surrounded The Brain and Mallah. Mallah gave a roar at us while Connor cracked his knuckles.

"Try it. I hate monkeys."

They stared each other down for a moment before The Brain spoke.

"No Mallah, this will not be our Waterloo." The Brain's cylinder began to shift and change. I could hear what sounded like something charging up and my eyes grew wide.

"Au Revoir, mes amis." He said darkly while more and more pieces showed kept coming out.

"Get down!" Wally yelled before I quickly held up an ice shield around those near me. The lights suddenly turned off and we were left in darkness for a brief moment. When all the lights flickered back on, both The Brain and Mallah were gone.

"Wait, that bug weapon thing was... a light switch?"

We all relaxed and I let my ice barrier fall.

"Well that's a bit anticlimactic." I muttered while glancing around at the others. Once we did a final sweep of the compound we left. Along the way we would stop to free the occasional animal from its collar. Once we arrived back at the bioship, everyone's mood seemed to be a lot better. I could faintly hear Wally and Artemis having a brief conversation and it made me giggle to myself.

"What are you grinning about?"

"One word. Souvenir."

"Two words. Gorilla lice."

"Huh? Oh, man! Uhh."

Kaldur took the collar of the last animal on the island and Captain spoke to the large tiger that had been following.

"That's the last of the collars?" The tiger looked at Cap and gave a growl in return.

"And I can count on you to keep the other animals out of trouble?" Once again the tiger gave another growl.

"Good. I'll be back for a visit. I promise." Cap proceeded to pet the tiger before standing up and watching the tiger run off.

"I think I'll call him Mr. Tawny."

The tiger was quick to leave, but I did notice the white wolf that had shown up with Connor had yet to leave.

"The rest of the pack is gone. What are you still doin' here?"

"I think he wants to stay with you." Megan stated with a smile on her face.

"Can I keep him?"

Wally gave a chuckle at Connors request.

"First the sphere, now this beast? Dude, you sure make a habit of collectin' strays."

"Maybe because he's such a stray himself." I saw Megan tilt her head to the side and smile at Connor. Something told me she was talking to him telepathically.

"Well, he's gonna need a name. Uh, how's about Krypto?"

"Pass."

"Besides, isn't that taken?"

We had all walked over to the entrance of the bioship now and heard Robin speaking to Kaldur.

"Look, I need to know. Why did you keep the mole Intel a secret?" This question seemed yo catch everyone's interest as they all paid attention. Kaldur was now facing all of us, eyeing us for a moment before explaining.

"The source of the tip was Sportsmaster."

"What? You can't trust him!" Artemis immediately got defensive once Sportsmaster was mentioned.

"I do not. It seemed possible, even likely that he was attempting to divide the team with false information."

"And given how this mission went, he nearly succeeded. But you had to consider it might be true." Robin seemed to finally understand. Took him long enough.

"Yes. As leader, I did. In which case I did not wish to alert the traitor."

"Hate to say it, but...makes sense."

"I told you." I grumbled to myself and earned a glare from Robin.

"I am still prepared to step down."

"All in favor of keeping Aqualad as leader?"

Everyone raised their hand instantly. Robin and Kaldur shared a look and a nod as Cap walked up, placing a hand on Kaldur's shoulder.

"Guess it's unanimous." Kaldur and Cap shook hands before Cap turned and said he would see us tomorrow.

"You're not coming back with us?"

"Nope. Gotta fly." He said before taking off.

We all filed into the bioship and I heard Connor decide on the name Wolf. Simple, but hey, it works.

I was the last one on the ship and stopped next to Kaldur. He seemed in thought for a brief moment.

"You alright Kaldur?"

"Yes. I am just relieved that things have been resolved."

"I told you they would come around. Took them long enough though."

"I wanted to say thank you again for believing in me from the start. It helped knowing I had someone on my side."

"Anytime. Like I said before, we're friend's. I'll stick by your side for however long you want me to." Kaldur gave a smile and we both turned and walked into the ship.


	13. Chapter 13: The Injustice League

**_Thank you everyone for your patience! I was able to find a website to stream and can now write! WOOHOO! So I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. My hands were cramping up while I was writing it. Lots of dialogue gets me . I managed to power through it yesterday and spent probably about 5 or 6 hours writing it. Enjoy!_**

 **Chapter 13: The Injustice League**

Today was starting out like a pretty normal day. I had woken up and felt pretty good. The burn on my side had pretty much healed up. We had been running practices and also rotating supervisors, but Captain Marvel seemed to come by regardless of whether or not he was supposed to be there. The more he stuck around the more I noticed how child like he actually was. It was making me wonder why he acted that way. I wasn't sure if the others realized it though. We hadn't heard anything about Red Tornado and I knew he was always on everyone's minds. I just wanted answers. Did he really betray us? Or was that just his programming? Either way, I needed to at least know. Today was training day, and our supervisor was Zatara. I was waiting for my turn in the simulator while Robin and Kaldur were sparring. They were both doing really well and not too much longer, they finished up. I glanced toward one of the halls and spotted Connor, Megan and Wolf all walking together to join in training. I smiled seeing the two of them together. It made me happy knowing two people I cared about found someone they loved. I could faintly hear Kaldur and Robin whispering to one another before I noticed Wally and Artemis coming down another hall.

"Do we tell them?" I heard Robin whisper.

"It is not our place."

When Artemis and Wally had finally stopped, Wally pointed toward Zatara.

"So what, Zatara's our babysitter for the week?" He gave a light scoff while noticing Captain Marvel.

"And why's he still here? And why is he eating my snacks?!"

When Wally's complaining had ceased the zeta tube sprung to life and announced Batman. I could already feel a slight bit of anxiety about whether or not he had found Red Tornado. As soon as he was through though, he began speaking.

"Computer, National News."

The computer sprung to life and Cat Grant was on the screen.

"The initial attack was short lived, but Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve."

On screen there were huge plants writhing and wrapping around buildings. They were crushing buildings and swinging violently around.

"And despite the intervention of Superman and The Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight."

I watched as hero upon hero was being knocked back trying to fend off the plants. Seeing our strongest fighters being batted away like flies was disheartening.

"Should we get out there?" Robin asked with a hint of excitement. Batman turned to face us quickly with that same stern look.

"No. The League will soon have the situation under control. That's not why I'm here. According to your Intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus blockbuster formula to Kobra."

"Who combined it will Bane's Venom to make Kobra Venom." Wally elaborated, and was quickly followed up by Robin.

"Which The Brain used to create his animal army." The conversation then bounced to Connor.

"And upgrade Wolf."

"The Brain also used inhibitor collars like the ones at Belle Reve Penetentiary." Megan went over her part of the explanation and was followed up by Artemis.

"Batman, is it possible that plant thingy's on Kobra Venom too?"

"I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis. The vine's cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra Venom variant."

"These can not be coincidences. Unrelated criminals cooperating with one another worldwide." Robin was beginning to type on the computer while Batman continued.

"Exactly. It's now clear our enemies have formed some kind of Secret Society of super villians. The attack in Metropolis is only the beginning."

"You got that right." Robin said while typing away and pulling up multiple screens. "Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei.." suddenly the screens all turned to static.

"Dude.." Wally said as Robin began to type away.

"It's not me. Someone's cutting the satellite signal. All satellite signals." Robin finished still frantically trying to get everything back online. The static screen suddenly cleared and The Joker was smiling into the camera. I cringed at the sight of him. The Joker was one of few villains who truly unnerved me. His sick smile and his laugh that made your blood run cold. He tapped his knuckles against the camera lens with that same smile. A chill ran up my spine just looking at him.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this important announcement from The Injustice League." The camera was turned toward a group of villains of whom I recognized most of them.

"We are responsible for the attacks on your cities. If you wish to save them, a ransom of ten billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit, but the longer your governments wait.." the camera then panned back to The Joker.

"The more we get to have our, jollies." The transmission then cut to static again while the Joker laughed.

"Roger that Aquaman. Have the UN prepare the ransom as a fallback, but it won't come to that." Batman said into his ear piece. Robin was now beginning to rewind through the video until he stopped on the full group of villains.

"Count Vertigo, The Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Atom, Wotan. Seven heavy hitters, probably behind everything and everyone we've faced."

"There's your secret society." Wally said. A grave look now crossing everyone's faces.

"Not so secret anymore." Artemis muttered sounding a bit confused.

"Perhaps after India they realized we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer."

"Yeah. That was their mistake. Right now I say we go kick some plant creature butt." Wally was way too enthusiastic for this mission.

"The Justice League will handle the plants. I have a different job for this team." Batman interuppted.

"Ah man." Wally whined but was silenced by a smack to the arm by Artemis.

"With the plants attacking so many locations simultaneously there must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it." Immediately I understood the gravity of Batman's words. He felt we were ready for something this dangerous.

"You realize what you're really asking them to do?" Zatara was quick to question Batman's decision.

"They're ready." He responded simply.

"Ready? Ready for what?" I shook my head at Wally while Artemis elaborated.

"Hello Wally! If the bug guns are fighting plants then who do you think we'll be fighting?"

"I don't know, I guess we'll.." Artemis pointed up to the screen and realization finally hit Wally.

"Ohhhh." He finally said which earned an eye roll from me.

"Well Batman, I trust you're correct." Zatara said while looking to Batman.

"I trust you can locate the enemy."

"Indeed. Wotan's involvement suggests sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled. Robin, if you would provide a holomap."

Robin began to type away as a map began to appear.

"I'll search for concentrated sorcerous activity." Zatara stepped up to the holomap and held up his palms, beginning to speak backwards. The map suddenly stopped spinning and a red dot lit up in the globe.

"There, that is where you will find the Injustice League's central control system."

"Quardinants locked in. The Louisiana bayou." Robin said while Kaldur continued.

"We are on our way." We all took off toward the hangar, stopping only to put our suits on. When we were all aboard and seated we took off as quickly as possible. It didn't take us long to reach our destination as marked by Megan activating camouflage mode. I was scanning the swamp down below but I wasn't seeing anything too special. Everyone was beginning to focus. Robin was inspecting his explosives and Wally had taken notice of the duffel bag seated by Kaldur's feet.

"What's in the duffel?"

"Plan B."

Megan suddenly groaned and placed a hand to her head as if it were hurting.

"You alright?" Connor asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

"Dizzy."

"Martians get air sick?" Robin asked in surprise.

"She does look a bit greener than usual." Wally added.

"Not me, her."

"I feel fine." Both Artemis and I said at the same time.

"Not you two, the bioship. She's trying to shield us but.." the bioship began to rotate out of control and I could feel us quickly losing altitude. When we were getting closer to the ground I could see Count Vertigo and Black Atom standing together. I could tell when our camouflage mode stopped working because we were hit hard and sent tumbling through the air and into the swamp below. When we finally came to a stop I clutched at my head. Everything was spinning and I felt like I was about to throw up.

"Never want to do that again." I muttered while the world stopped spinning. I watched plant vines spring up from the swamp below and begin to pull us underwater. A loud thunk echoed through the roof of the bioship and a hole was ripped open. Megan clutched her head and grunted in pain.

"He's hurting her." She said and Connor quickly jumped into action. She punched Black Atom square in the face, but the damage was already done. Water began to pour in through the hole and fill the ship.

"No. No way I'm nearly drowning three missions in a row." Artemis pulled out a couple rebreathers and I put mine in my mouth.

"M'gann, we need to get out. Open a hatch." Connor said while place a hand gently on her shoulder.

"Hello Megan." She said while thinking her forehead with her hand and having gills appear on her neck. We all done underwater and followed Megan as she opened a new exit.

'Out. Everyone out.' Kaldur called through the mind link and we all one by one swam out. When I made it to the surface I removed the rebreather and took a deep breath of air. When we were all ashore we could see the bioship be completely sucked underwater.

"She's in shock. She'll need time to recover." Megan said just before a sudden bought of pain and dizziness swept through me. I collapsed to the ground and groaned in pain while clutching my head. I could hear Wally start saying something.

"Vertigo."

"Count Vertigo to you peasant."

Connor was the first to recover, but just as he was about to go punch Vertigo, Black Atom punched him away. Kaldur was next to regain his bearings as he began to use the water from the swamp to power his water bearers. He threw the water at Vertigo and knocked him away, giving the rest of us the relief we needed.

'Robin, Miss Martian, disappear. We will keep them busy. You two fulfill the mission objective.' Kaldur commanded through the link. I prepared myself now for the fight. My hands began to glow a light blue and the air began to grow cold. I watched Megan disappear just as Black Atom punched Kaldur and Wolf jumped. I took a few shots at Black Atom but it didn't seem to hinder him much. He tossed Wolf into Artemis and Wally before aiming toward me. He flew at me and punched me in the stomach, knocking me into a tree. I heard the tree crack at the impact and I slumped down. My vision was spotted as I forced the darkness away. I couldn't afford to lose consciousness now. I caught my breath and stood up, preparing myself again to try and blast Black Atom only yo be hit into the tree again. My body was too heavy to move now, but my mind was aware of everything going on around me. I felt myself being picked up and carried, then dropped on the ground.

"Two are missing." I heard Vertigo say and inwardly I was ecstatic that Megan and Robin managed to evade the onslaught. I felt my body slowly coming back under my control, but I made sure to remain perfectly still. I didn't want to give myself away.

'I've lost contact with Aqualad and the others. Should we.."

'Sorry that's not the gig, this is. The Injustice League central control system.'

'I'm still here. I think everyone is unconscious. They know that both of you are missing though. Keep your guard up.'

'Will do Eira.' Robin responded.

' It looks like that plant is acting as an antenna to control the other plants worldwide.'

Suddenly the mind link went quiet and I began to worry.

' Robin? Megan? Are you two okay?'

'Dealing with Ivy and Ultra Humanite.'

It was at that moment I heard something approach.

I heard words I didn't understand and felt myself being lifted. I could feel the air moving across my face and felt something warm and hard under my hand. My eyes fluttered open as I sat up and cringed. My back was going to be pretty badly bruised from that tree. To my surprise however, we were in a floating cage with Wotan flying above us maintaining the magical cage.

"They awaken."

"You're certain this will hold them?" Count Vertigo's voice was getting on my nerves now. I watched Kaldur sitting up and everyone else finally coming to.

"The cage is impenetrable. Even the Superboy has no chance of escaping." Kaldur had made his way to the cage bars and gripped them.

"You are not the only one trained in the mystic arts Wotan." Kaldur said while his tatoos lit up and golden light shone through and around him. It was clear the cage was negating anything Kaldur could magically throw at it.

"Please Atlantean. Do not pretend you're in my league." Wotan rebuffed. I glanced to Wotan and swung my hand to launch an icicle at him, but he simply floated out of the way.

"Silly girl, your powers are useless in the air."

"Or so you think." I said as I moved my hand toward my chest and the icicle came flying back and grazed Wotan's shoulder. The cage flickered for just a moment, but it wasn't long enough to drop us.

"Clever girl. I should have planned more appropriately." He said right when I heard Megan in my head.

'Robin, she's made contact.'

'Artemis or Eira?'

'Neither.'

I glanced just passed Wotan and saw a slight shimmer of the sky and a smile crossed my lips. A moment later the bioship smacked into Wotan and knocked him to the ground, releasing us all in the process. When we all landed I could hear Count Vertigo telling someone to stop us. I looked ahead and spotted Ultra Humanite with a gun ready to fight, but he would definitely be Connor's to deal with.

"I hate monkeys." Connor growled out before charging. I could see Kaldur and Artemis working together as Wally charged toward Vertigo. Of course he didn't make it far, so I shot a few blasts of ice at him to at least distract him enough. Wally still got knocked away as I sent an icy air toward the water surrounding Vertigo and Black Atom's feet. The water froze, but Atom broke free easily and knocked me over toward Wally.

"Where are Robin and the Martian!" Vertigo yelled sounding almost panicked. As I pulled myself to my feet I heard a huge explosion and looked up, seeing the plant being engulfed in flames.

"Kill them, kill them all." I could heard Count Vertigo say as they gathered once more. I kept taking shots at Vertigo only to have him aim his blasts at me and causing me to fall yo my knees. It was getting old. He soon redirected his attack on Artemis, and I could heard Wally getting ready to help her, only to be blasted by Wotan.

"Enough!" Wotan yelled as he was quickly blasted by one of Robin's explosives. Unfortunately he had placed a shield around himself and blasted us with lightning. I collapsed to my knees feeling the pain surge through me. It felt like every part of my body was on fire. I couldn't hear much over my own screams, but when I managed to open my eyes just a crack I saw the bioship dropping something into Kaldur's hand. The lightning stopped and my body went completely limp for a moment.

"The helmet of fate." I heard Wotan say ominously.

"No Aqualad, don't!" Wally yelled and was about to run and grab the helmet, but was punch by Black Atom. Connor was quick to knocked Black Atom away, but it was too late. Kaldur slipped the helmet on and everything was bathed in the gold light. When the light faded Kaldur was gone, and Doctor Fate was hovering in his place. Doctor Fate floated over toward Wotan and began to speak.

"Wotan, you are mine."

They both sent blasts of light at one another, but Wotan's was no match for Doctor Fate's. Wotan was blasted to the done and magically chained. In my moment of watching I didn't notice Joker move in on Robin. I heard his mocking voice copying Doctor Fate and giving his trademark laugh.

I watched Robin begin dodging and I was about to help him when I was blasted in the back by an energy blast. When I looked back I was looking at The Atomic Skull. I stumbled back to my feet and let my frustration loose. With a yell, ice shards erupted out of my body in waves and bombarded The Atomic Skull until he was pushed back to the center of the small clearing we were in covered in cuts. I collapsed to one knee, taking a few deep breaths while looking at everyone else's fights. Sheer relief washed over me when I saw The Justice League begin to descend. All the villains began to join the Atomic Skull in the center and were surrounded.

"It's over." Batman said. The villains looked at each other and raised their hands in surrender.

"There will be another day." Vertigo said only to be followed up by the Joker's crazy raving.

"Another day? Another day! There won't be another day. Not for any of us!" He raised his hands and the gloves he wore were glowing. I looked over at two vines that burst from the swamp and saw pods beginning to explode. A green smoke began floating toward all of us.

"Joker Venom spores. Don't breathe!" Batman called while knocking out the Joker. I looked at the incoming smoke and held my breathe on to see Doctor Fate fly up above it.

"Fear not." He cast that weird shaped light and the smoke all began to be sucked into the symbol. In just a matter of seconds the smoke was completely gone and I could safely breathe.

"Fate has intervened." Doctor Fate finished.

When the threat had ceased, everyone's mentors began to check up on us. Thankfully I made it out of this mission with only some minor bruising. Poor Wally had a broken arm. When the villains were being dealt with, Doctor Fate landed and Wally blew up at him.

"What were you thinking! How could you let him put on the helmet! Nabu will never release him now. Kaldur will be stuck inside Doctor Fate forever."

My heart skipped for a moment at Wally's words. He had to let Kaldur go. It was Doctor Fate's place to take over Kaldur forever. Doctor Fate was frozen in place for what felt like an eternity, then he raised his arms and slowly removed the helmet. The light blinded me once again, but when I could see I was relieved to find Kaldur standing there once again.

"Nabu let you go?" Wally asked when he was standing in front of Kaldur.

"He almost did not. But your friend Kent was most helpful. He says hello." I could see Wally smiling at Kaldur's words.

"We're done here. The super villains secret society has been neutralized. As for your performance...it was satisfactory." I let out a sigh of relief knowing that our mission was a good one in Batman's eyes. It felt good to accomplish something big and have him recognize it. We all looked at one another and I gave a small smile. Everyone was safe and that's all I really cared about. A little beat up, but overall okay.

"Return to the cave and get some rest. You've all earned it." Batman said before stepping onto a platform created by Green Lantern and being flown off. We all slowly made our way onto the bioship and slumped into our chairs. As we took off I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

"Lets all agree to never use that helmet again." Wally said while looking at the duffel placed near Kaldur once more.

"Agreed." Kaldur said while the rest of us nodded to the agreement.

"Hopefully things don't get that crazy again." I said quietly while opening my eyes a tiny bit. The last blast I used in Atomic Skull took a lot more out of me than I thought it would. Robin seemed to notice my lack of energy and watched me carefully.

"Are you okay Eira?"

"Yeah, just a bit more drained than I thought I would be."

Robin still looked a bit iffy, but he let me be as we made it back to the cave. We filed off the bioship and I said my good night's to everyone. I was dragging my feet when I walked into my room and flopped on my bed. Staring at the wall I realized that I needed to practice my more intense powers more so I wouldn't be so tired afterward.

I heard a faint knock on my door and gave a quiet mumbled for them to come in. Robin quietly strolled in and sat next to me on my bed.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just when I use certain powers it saps a lot if my energy. I need to work on that a bit more."

"Alright, I just wanted to be sure." Robin stood up and headed to the door, but right before he left I mumbled a very quiet, "Thanks for checking on me."

"Anytime." As the door closed I slipped into a dream filled sleep. One that wouldn't be nearly as restful as I wanted.


	14. Chapter 14: Insecurities

**_Quick update. I would like to thank LordGriffin1Million who's question actually inspired me a great deal for this chapter. Got me thinking and I think this chapter really turned out great because of it. Once again, thank you all for reviews and enjoying my story. I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it._**

 **Chapter 14: Insecurities**

[Dream]

I was sitting alone in an empty room. There were no windows and it was pitch black. The only noises I could hear were my own. My own breathing, my squirming under the constant feeling of being watched. I had curled up in a ball and hugged my knees to my chest. The longer I stayed in the room, the more stifling the silence was becoming. The silence was briefly interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing. I looked up, but still saw nothing. As I searched through the darkness my eyes met red. My blood ran cold and my breath caught in my throat. Those eyes kept staring and I heard her quiet chuckle. I scooted away from her into a wall I didn't know was even there. Her voice was harsh and sharp, but held a mocking tone that befitted her.

"Tsk tsk sweetie. Now don't be trying to back away from me. That hurts your mother's feelings."

"Where am I?"

"No where important dear. I just needed to speak with you."

"I won't listen."

"Oh I'm afraid you have no choice. After all, you are stuck here."

I remained silent as I glared at her. Attempting to make my glare as intimidating as possible, but failing as she laughed.

"Oh how adorable. You think you're scary. You're so cute."

She moved with an impossible speed and held an ice blade up to my neck. I didn't even see her move.

"I'm the truly scary one." Her eyes bored into mine and made me shiver in fear.

"I thought this little meeting would go better, but maybe I was wrong. I only came here to teach you the error of your ways."

"What error?" My voice was shaking and I couldn't pull myself together to even move.

"This goody goody path you've taken. I figured that you would follow in my footsteps one day, and I still see the possibility there, but this good act you're playing is delaying that. Maybe I should have listened to your father and kept you. Raised you to be just like me."

"I would never be like you."

"Oh but that's where you're wrong sweetie. Just by letting your powers loose and losing control you are coming another step closer. Each time you lose it and hurt somebody, that's another step. Did you really think I started out this way? Though I will admit I made the switch to crime a lot faster than you."

"What are you talking about?

"Sweetheart, your powers can do some devastating damage. I lost control once and who would have guessed I would enjoy it so much."

"I will never enjoy hurting people. I'll never be like you. I have friends and people who care about me. They would never let that happen. You're alone. That's why you lost your mind."

My mother's smirk faded as she placed the ice blade against my cheek and started digging it in. It didn't cut, but the pressure was enough.

"Do you really think your "friends" will really trust you when they know you could become just like me? When they see you for what you were meant to be?"

My mother backed away and my team materialized in front of me. All of them had harsh looks on their faces and were whispering to one another.

"She could never be like us. She's too dangerous." I listened to Robin first.

"Agreed, she is too much like her mother to be trusted." Kaldur had spoken next. One by one they all made remarks about how I couldn't be trusted and how dangerous I could be. Tears were tugging at the corners of my eyes. My only friends and family I had known were rejecting me. I was experiencing my deepest fear. Losing the people I cared about.

"No...no, they would never say things like that." I covered my ears to try and drown out the voices, but they kept ringing through my head.

"These are all lies!" I yelled as my voice cracked and the tears fell in torrents.

"The truth hurts hun. Remember, one day they will abandon you, and I'll be waiting. Until then, I'll be waiting and watching. Bye dear." My mother swung the blade at me and right before it made contact everything disappeared.

[End dream]

I sat up with a gasp as I looked around my room. Ice had completely covered everything while I was dreaming. I willed the ice away and pulled my knees to my chest. My body was trembling and I couldn't get it to stop. I cried quietly into my knees before I wrapped myself in my blanket and got up. The dark room wasn't comforting to me. It reminded me too much of the windowless room in my dream. I had made it out to the kitchen and living room and curled up on the couch. I stared blankly at the black tv screen just thinking.

'Would everyone really abandon me?' More tears pricked at my eyes as I heard the faint sound of the zeta tube spring to life. I peeked over the top of the couch and Robin came into view. He didn't see me at first, but my quiet sniffle gave me away.

"Eira? What's wrong?" He walked over to me and took a seat. I sniffled again and tried to calm myself down enough to talk.

"Dick, if I lost control, would you and everyone else abandon me?"

He was surprised as I spoke my whispered words of fear.

"No. We're all your friends. We stick with each other no matter what. You're family."

"But what if I started becoming more like her?"

"Eira, you could never be like her. You have too kind of a heart for that. You are too good to become evil."

"Thanks Dick." I rubbed my eyes with my blanket wrapped hands as I looked at the time. It was early. Much too early for Robin to be there.

"Why are you here so early?"

"Bruce had a thermal sensor placed in your room here. If the temperature dropped too much it would set off an alarm. He sent me to check on you."

I nodded and gave one last sniffle before noticing that he was in his pjs. I smiled a little and let out a quiet snicker.

"You could have put like a jacket on or something." His pjs were a simple red color. But I could see that Alfred had added Robin's symbol onto the pocket. It was cute to say the least. I saw a light dusting of blush cross his cheeks in embarrassment before he tried poking fun at me.

"Well at least I'm not a walking, talking burrito." I let out another giggle at his attempt before giving him a hug.

"Thanks for coming by. I'm okay now though. You should go home and go to bed."

"Nah, I think I'll just crash here for the rest of the night. I had Alfred slip some spare clothes into a room here for me. Want to watch some movies until you can fall back asleep?"

I smiled and nodded before going and digging through the movies.

"Lets see, we have The Princess Diaries, Avatar, Mean Girls, The Incredibles, dang I never realized how many movies we really have."

"Lets do The Incredibles. I'll go make some popcorn." As I put the DVD in I could hear the microwave popping. When I sat down on the couch again I unwrapped myself from my blanket burrito and draped it across the couch. When Robin came back he had a huge bowl full of popcorn in one hand and was skillfully carrying two drinks. He handed me a drink and sat down under the blanket. I pushed play and we began to watch while stuffing our faces full of popcorn. The movie was one of my favorites, but sleep was knocking on my eye lids and eventually I succumbed to it. Thankfully this sleep was dreamless. After hours I felt someone lightly shaking me and I barely peeked my eyes open. Black Canary was smiling down at me and spoke quietly.

"Eira, it's almost 11. I think you should go change and get ready for today."

I groaned quietly and got up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes the whole way back to my room. I guess it was rotation day as far as our supervisor went. I guess having Black Canary wouldn't be too bad. As I walked into my room I got dressed into some normal clothes and brushed my hair. Looking at myself in a mirror, I could see that my eyes were still a little red from crying last night, but it wasn't too noticeable. When I was ready I headed back out into the living room and saw everyone in the kitchen about to eat. I sat down at the table right as Megan placed a plate of eggs, bacon, hash browns and pancakes in front of me. It all looked so delicious and I couldn't resist from digging in.

"I figured that since you went straight to bed last night that you'd be pretty hungry." Megan said with a giggle as I continued to tear through the food.

"Thanks Megan. This is delicious." Within a few short minutes the food was gone. I glanced around at the others and noticed that I had even beat Wally. A blush of embarrassment crossed my cheeks as I sipped some orange juice.

"So Rob, why were you sleeping on the couch when I got here?" Wally asked while eating a piece of sausage.

"I couldn't sleep last night and decided to come here. Eira and I watched a movie."

The discussion halted after their exchange as everyone finished eating and Canary came over.

"Are you all ready for some sparring practice?"

We all nodded and headed over to the sparring area. Everyone partnered up, but since we had an odd number of people, I was partnered with Black Canary. My practice was a little one sided. I did my best, but Canary was always one step ahead. I lost count of how many times she threw me. I did get a couple good hits in on her, but they were few and far between. By the time training was over I was breathing heavily and bent over with my hands on my knees.

"You did very well today Eira. The only thing you could really improve on is thinking quicker on your feet. You know the moves and can execute them well, but you pause just a few seconds too long to think of what to do next."

I nodded as sweat dripped off my face. I could see everyone else was a little winded, but I was the worst off. Maybe it was all the dodging that did me in. Maybe I should have tried redirecting more attacks.

"You all did a good job today. Go ahead and enjoy the rest of your day." I saw everyone relax a bit and disperse. I felt pretty gross so I went and showered then changed. When I was ready I went back out to find everyone scattered around. Artemis was sitting at the table reading a magazine, Robin and Wally were playing digital air hockey, Kaldur was sitting on the couch clicking through the channels and I could only imagine where Connor and Megan were. Everyone seemed comfortable doing their own thing. I looked around for something to do, but found nothing that really caught my attention. Walking over to the couch, I sat down next to Kaldur as he stopped on a random channel. I think it was some kind of animal show. We sat in silence just watching until my phone rang in my pocket. I pulled it out and stared at the caller id. I didn't recognize the number, but I answered anyway.

"Hello?"

All I heard was silence on the other end for a moment before a man's voice spoke.

"Eira?"

"Who is this?"

"That's not important dear. All you need to know is that I can help you with your little control problem."

I paused, feeling my team's eyes turn toward me as I spoke. If I didn't play this off they might get suspicious.

"Okay."

"When you can get away from your team, come to the Star Labs in Central City. We'll discuss things further. Oh and don't tell any of your friends. They'll misunderstand my intentions."

"Alright. Bye."

I hung up and put my phone away. Everyone was staring at me and I smiled nervously.

"Sorry, an old friend of mine managed to get my number. She wants to hang out and catch up. I should probably leave in a few minutes actually."

Everyone eventually accepted my explanation and went back to what they were doing. I did feel someone watching me though and I could almost guarantee that it was Robin. He knew my past the best, and he could probably tell I was lying. I stood up and strolled over to the zeta tubes and walked through, walking out of the zeta in Central City. I walked out of the alley and had no problem spotting my destination. I made the turn and started down the street, weaving around the people that crowded around me. When I made it to the building I paused just outside and stared at the large lab. I was standing there for about ten minutes and I must have looked truly lost because a middle aged man walked up to me with a smile.

"Did you need something miss?"

"Oh no, I've just never seen one of the Star Lab facilities before. It so big."

The man chuckled and seemed to accept my answer before walking off. My phone then rang as if on cue.

"I see you made it. And quite a bit sooner than I would have thought. Now come around to the back of the building. The door will be unlocked. Take the stairs to the second floor and enter the first door on the right. I'm waiting."

The line went dead and I looked around for any prying eyes. When I was sure the coast was clear I headed around the back of the building and saw the door. I tested it with a light tug and it pulled open. The inside was quiet and I didn't see a soul. Maybe everyone was on lunch. I paused when the door closed and began to second guess my decisions.

'Is this really worth it? I don't even know who this person is. They seem to know me though. How did they even get my number? But...if he can really help me...' I looked around and spotted the door that led to the stairs. I pulled the door open slowly and stared at the metal stairs that led up just a single floor. The light was dim and the room was slightly dark. It put me on edge as I somewhat rushed up the stairs, half expecting something to grab my ankles. I burst through the second floor door breathing heavily. I still hadn't heard anyone in the building and it was becoming even more eerie. Something felt very off about how empty the building was in the middle of the day. I pulled out my phone and turned my GPS on. Opening a text message I sent a quick message to Robin.

'Track my GPS. If I'm not home in an hour, come get me.'

I sent the message and looked for the door supposedly on my right. Spotting it, I saw a glow of light leaking out from under the door. I walked over and paused with my hand over the door knob.

'This is my last chance. I can just turn around and go back to the cave like nothing even happened. But if I do, I may never be able to fully control my powers.' I swallowed hard and grasped the knob, slowly turning it until the door squeaked open. I looked inside and saw a man sitting in front of a computer typing away. When he paused and turned to face me I was stunned to meet his purple eyes.

"Ah good, you made it. I was beginning to wonder if you changed your mind." He stood up and I could make out his full height. He was tall. At least 6 foot 3. His hair was a dirty blonde and his smile was a little off. It didn't hold the warmth that a normal smile would.

"Now to get introductions out of the way. My name is James. I've been working here for a few years. My study has been in gene manipulation in regards to meta genes. The genes that determine whether you will develop super powers. I am also the man who gave your mother her powers."

My eyes turned to saucers as James spoke to me. He merely chuckled at my expression and continued.

"Yes, your mother was not born with her powers. I discovered a way to mutate her genes so that she could develop a super power. However, genetically altering one's DNA has some unintended side effects. Such as your mother's sanity. It is a shame that my project could do something like that, but in all other regards it was a success. Now you dear, were born with your gene. Your powers are completely natural. It is much less likely that you will be like your mother, but the possibility is still there. Your DNA has come up with a sequence to balance out your powers so that one will not suffer in place of another. I won't get too much into the details for the sake of time, but I want to create something to monitor any spikes in your powers and counteract them."

I was reeling from all this information. My head couldn't hold it all. This man knew too much about me. Too much for me to be comfortable with.

"How do you even know all these things?"

"I suppose your mother and the orphanage wouldn't tell you anything about me. Nevermind that though. The important thing is that I want to help you."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"Because I care Eira. I'll elaborate on that later, when the timing is better."

James turned around and grabbed a metal blue bracelet off the desk. He extended it out to me and I simply stared at it for a moment, unsure about taking it.

"You don't have to wear it right now. Just take it and wear it when you think the time is right."

I hesitantly took the bracelet and slipped it into my pocket. He was still smiling that strange smile that didn't meet his eyes. He sat back down and began to type on the computer again.

"Go ahead and scurry away. I have quite a bit of work to do. Be sure to leave the way you came in. Wouldn't want you stepping out of bounds."

"What do you mean out of bounds?"

"Let me just say your mother isn't my only success." I began to see waves across the air in the room. I saw the faint figures of scientists walking around the lab, completely oblivious to the fact that we were even there. One even managed to walk through me.

"How are you doing this?"

"In terms you can understand, I can create pocket dimensions. It keeps anyone out that I don't want in with me. It makes my research easier, not having people making noise. Just be sure to leave the way I said, otherwise you may get lost in space-time."

I nodded and began to retrace my steps to the tee. I went to the stairwell and ran down, slamming through the door and running toward the back door. As I looked through the back door I could see an almost invisible shimmering of the world. As soon as I walked through I heard noise once again. People, cars, and the normal sounds of the city. It was a relief to hear noise. When I pulled my phone out I looked through my messages and saw that my text to Robin hadn't sent. Apparently when I was in his pocket dimension it made my phone malfunction. Since I was out of the cave I figured I would make the most of it and check thinks out. The city was very different than Gotham. It didn't feel as heavy or stifling. It had a lighter atmosphere.

'This place isn't too bad. Maybe I should visit more.'

I spent the rest of my afternoon just walking the city until I received a text from Robin asking where I was. I sent back a quick reply and noticed the time. It would be dinner soon and I was not about to miss it two days in a row. I broke into a sprint down the street until I came to the alley the zeta tube was in. I was about to walk in when it lit up. My eyes grew twice as big when Wally walked through and almost walked right into me.

"Eira! You surprised me. What're you doing here?"

"Uh, my friend that I went to hang out with lives here in Central City."

"Oh, cool. Well I better be getting home. Mom will kill me if I'm late for dinner. See you tomorrow."

"Bye." I waved as he took off down the street. I let out a sigh of relief as I went back to the cave. When I walked through I immediately smelled spaghetti cooking in the kitchen. My mouth started watering as I walked to the kitchen. Megan was cooking away in the kitchen while Connor was watching tv. Robin was talking to Kaldur at the table and it looked like Artemis had already left.

"Welcome back Eira." Megan said with a smile from the kitchen. "I hope you like spaghetti."

"Its my favorite! Are you making meatballs too?"

"Of course."

"Yay!" I said cheerily while walking over next to her.

"Need any help?"

"Could you cut the bread?"

"Sure." I walked over and grabbed the loaf of French bread and placed it on the cutting board. Searching for the proper knife, I eventually found it and sliced it up, finishing just as Megan started plating the food. I put the sliced bread in a large bowl and placed it on the table then took my seat.

"You're having dinner with us tonight Robin?"

Robin looked over at me and cracked a smile.

"Well I figured since I spent the night last night I would get the full experience, including staying for dinner."

I giggled and started eating. It was amazing. The sauce was just right and the meatballs were cooked perfectly. And it was even better with the bread and butter. When I was finished I volunteered to wash up the dishes. While I was washing both Robin and Kaldur left for the evening leaving just Megan, Connor and I. Which in all honesty just meant me. It wouldn't be long before they went off together to make out or whatever it is they do. I made sure to purposely aim my thoughts toward Megan and within a few seconds she was blushing bright red and smacking my shoulder. I giggled at her before finishing up the dishes and heading to watch some tv.

"What was that about?" Connor asked while glancing at me then to Megan.

"Oh just some girl stuff." I said with a smile while sitting down.

"Whatever." He answered before beginning to channel surf. He was passing by a lot of good shows, but clearly they weren't what he was looking for. Eventually he stopped on a channel with the news on and I inwardly sighed. I didn't feel like watching the news tonight. Just as I was standing up a new headline skimmed across the bottom of the screen.

"Security breach at Central City Star Labs?" I questioned out loud while watching it continue to scroll.

"No information was stolen, however a breach was registered in the computer systems." I continued the headline until it disappeared off the side of the screen.

'That is too much of a coincidence. James must be the breach.'

"Doesn't look like any harm was done. No big deal." Connor said before channel surfing again.

"Yeah." I agreed a little half-heartedly. I walked off to my room at a slightly brisk pace, loosely clutching the bracelet in my pocket. As I walked into my room I noticed some new furniture. My room was no longer barren and empty. There were night stands and dressers, a full size vanity and a standing jewelry box. A large chest sat at the foot of my bed and my small dresser had been replaced with one twice it's side.

"When did Alfred buy me furniture?" I questioned myself while pacing my room. A little slip of white paper was folded up on my desk, so I carefully picked it up and opened it.

'Figured you could use some furniture in here to make it feel more like home. I told Alfred to get what you would need, but I think he went a little overboard.

-Dick'

I smiled at the letter and placed it back down on the night stand. I circled my room and inspected all my new furniture. It was all very high quality wood and well made. Before everything changed I would have never imagined having anything this nice. I walked to the jewelry box and opened it, being greeted by tons of jewelry that I would probably never wear. I found a free space and placed the bracelet carefully inside, studying it for a moment before closing the doors.

'I still don't trust him.' I thought while changing into my pajamas and slipping on my blue fuzzy slippers. The floors of the cave got really cold at night. I was considering laying down and just going to sleep, but I was suddenly really thirsty so I went back to the kitchen. Megan and Connor had wandered off and it was just me. While I was filling up my glass I heard the zeta start humming. To my surprise Kaldur had come back and was surprised to see me standing in the kitchen.

"Hi Kaldur, what're you doing back?"

"I wanted to use the cave computer to do some research. The thought did not cross my mind until a few minutes ago. Are you about to go to sleep?"

"I was thinking about it, but I have a bit too much energy left in me to fall asleep."

"I see. Perhaps you would like to help me then?"

"What're you researching?"

"Red Tornado."

My face turned serious and I nodded before following Kaldur over to the computer. We both started typing and digging through files we had access to. We weren't finding anything of importance in these files.

"Too bad Robin isn't here. He could hack us into the Batcave system and we might be able to find more information."

"He would be very helpful. However this is all I was expecting to find. I was not expecting to find any important information. I wanted to learn more about Red Tornado as to better understand him."

"Oh, well then I guess your secret mission was a success."

He smiled slightly at me before shutting the computer down.

"I forgot to ask. How was your day visiting your friend?"

"It was fine. Not what I was expecting, but interesting none the less."

"I see. If I remember correctly, the team is overdue for...hanging out. Perhaps we could all go on a trip similar to the beach."

"That would be fun. Maybe we could go to an observatory and learn a little about space." I smiled wide as Kaldur chuckled.

"We will need to ask the others."

"Oh I'm sure they won't mind."

"Perhaps we could ask the others in the morning. I should probably leave before it gets too late. Good night Eira." Kaldur was smiling at me, but I saw something behind his eyes that had me wondering. I couldn't place the emotion that was showing. It seemed like it was a mix of so many things. Happiness, confusion, timidity, but also resolve. It was bizarre, but I said nothing about it.

"Good night Kaldur." Kaldur turned and walked to the zeta tubes, taking his leave in a glow of yellow light and humming.

"Something is on his mind." I mumbled quietly to myself before walking back to my room sipping my water.

[Gotham City]

The Star Labs facility in Gotham was quiet and dark. Only the glow of the street lights and the city illuminated the area. Faint movement flickered by the building and entered the back door. The person took the staircase and entered the first room on the right.

"You know, you're a little too predictable. Try picking the third door next time. Make it a little bit more interesting."

"Seline, you know very well it's better this way."

James was rubbing his eyes as he turned toward Seline.

"Eira stopped by. I gave her the bracelet, but I don't believe she trusts me."

"I didn't think she would. After all, you do have that air about you." Seline laughed that wicked laugh while her red eyes studied James.

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"No. Her genes are exactly what I need to finish the stabilizing serum. If all things go according to plan I can administer it to you before the end of the year."

"Good. This whole degrading thing is becoming quite a nuisance. My ice is slowly becoming weaker. I can feel it."

"There's nothing to worry about. She'll come around to it."

"Good. Now let's discuss exactly how we'll bring her home. After all, she needs her mother and father."


	15. Chapter 15: Kidnapping

_**Wow I have really been in the mood to write these past few days. I'm so excited to be close to the episode I have been envisioning since I started writing. Hope you all enjoy and please review! :D**_

 **Chapter 15: Kidnapping**

The week went on without much really happening. I did notice though that Wally finally had a cast on his arm. It took some arguing and convincing, but once he heard that people would want to help him a bunch, he was all for it. It was also very clear he was milking it for all it was worth. At least once a day he would play the broken arm card to get someone to get something for him. Captain Marvel came to the cave every day still and he was Wally's number one victim. Today's food of choice seemed to be nachos. He was getting out of everything, including mandatory training with Black Canary. I was stuck sparring with Black Canary again today. I actually did better this time. I took pointers from her all week and was finally getting a better hang of sparring. I even tossed her a few times. Of course she tossed me about twice as much. Canary halted our sparring with a simple smile and nod before walking up to the others.

"Good work, everyone. In fact, it's been a very productive week."

Everyone was now stopping and approaching Canary.

"Yeah, for everyone except kid malingerer." Artemis said while gesturing to Wally in his reclining chair.

"Hey! Arm broken in combat against The Injustice League here." Wally waved his broken arm around with his thick white cast.

"We know Wally. You've been a pain in the butt since you had that cast put on." I rolled my eyes at him and earned a scowl from Wally before I heard Canary chuckle.

"I've really enjoyed being your, uh, den mother this week."

We all turned as we heard the zeta tube announce Zatara entering the cave.

'I thought Zatara was last week's supervisor.' My thoughts however were quickly squashed when he provided clearance for someone else into the cave. After Zatara's clearance a girl stepped out of the zeta tube. She looked just like Zatara. I could only guess she was his daughter.

"Zatanna, this is the team. Team, my daughter, Zatanna."

She seemed a little nervous. Her posture and eyes said that to me, but I could also tell that these nerves wouldn't last long. She struck me as the outgoing type. Megan was the first to fly over and started to introduce herself when Robin stepped in and cut Megan off.

"Robin! Ahem. I mean, I'm Robin. Heh." I had to stifle a laugh toward him and his sudden eagerness to welcome her to the team.

'Someone's got a crush.' I thought while listening back in to Robin's introductions.

"She's M'gann, and that's Wally, Artemis, Kaldur, Connor and Eira."

I smiled widely and gave a little wave. No need to bombard her with a bunch of attention when she already seemed a little nervous.

"Welcome to the cave." Kaldur said while everyone kind of inched slightly closer.

"Thanks." She said while glancing off to the side.

"So, are you joining the team?" Robin asked with an eagerness in his voice I hadn't heard before.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is strictly a visit. But i am sorry we missed the training." Zatara turned to Canary after taking his hat off and holding it in front of his chest. "It's some from which Zatanna could benefit." I then suddenly heard Megan talking in my head.

'Do the rest of you get the impression we're still on probation with Zatara?'

Connor was the first to chime in.

'Not just Zatara. I mean, why is Marvel still hanging around?' Connor moved his hand in a gesture and I almost cringed. Poor Zatanna would think we were crazy or rude. One of the two. Wally was quick to have a rebuttal though, making a gesture as well.

'Because we like having him around.' Artemis was next and was quick to tease Wally.

'You like having him around 'cause he waits on you hand and foot.' At least Artemis was more subtle in her movements.

'And your point is?' Kaldur quickly added his insight to the conversation.

'It almost makes me nostalgic for Red Tornado's tenure as our supervisor.'

'Hey guys..' I started by what cut off by Robin as he turned and faced Zatanna with a smile.

'Yeah. At least he trusted us.'

I could see that Zatanna was catching on quick to what was going on. Her expression was slowly changing to one of annoyance.

'Guys..' I said again but was quickly interuppted again, but by Connor this time.

I'd you ignore the fact we shouldn't have trusted him! He was a traitor. That machine nearly got all of us killed.'

'Guys! Cool it with the gesturing or else Zatanna is gonna know something's up.'

Everyone looked at me after my interruption, but just then Zatanna stepped around Robin and into our little circle.

"Are you guys having a psychic conversation? Cause I can't decide if that's cool or really rude."

"Told you." I mumbled while crossing my arms across my chest. If they had just let me say something, she probably wouldn't be offended right now. And now Canary and Zatara were staring at us.

"Alright. Fine. We were talking about Red Tornado. It's been weeks since his attack, and the League hasn't told us anything." I could see understanding in Canary's eyes, but also resolve. The resolve you have from following orders.

"The League is searching for Tornado, as well as the other androids that invaded the cave and their creator, T.O. Morrow. Batman's made tracking them down our highest priority."

I knew this conversation was not going to end well. Red Tornado was still a really sore topic to all of us. I could feel Connor and Robin's agitation the most. Robin was the next to accuse.

"But you've found none of the above." Canary was obviously getting irritated and I didn't want to see her get mad.

"Not yet, but Tornado is Justice League. The team is not to pursue this." I heard the finality in her tone and I knew the discussion was over. Zatara stepped up now, I imagine to diffuse the situation.

"Why don't you all take Zatanna on a, uh, a tour of the cave?"

I looked to where Zatanna had been standing but saw she was no longer there. I turned when I heard loud snoring and saw Zatanna with Wolf. Right then, Captain Marvel walked in with the plate of nachos that Wally wanted. Wolf was running to him in seconds.

"Ah, you guys are giving a tour? Cool!"

Connor was quick to deploy a distraction for Marvel however.

"Actually, I was hoping you'd take Wolf outside. He needs the exercise. We'll join you in a few."

I could feel something off about the way Connor was acting. I knew he had something planned. And it probably had to do with Red Tornado.

"Sure, sure. I can do that. Come on, Wolf." Marvel took off with the plate of nachos and Wolf followed quickly behind him, tongue hanging out just like an ordinary dog. I noticed Wally deflate slightly out of the corner of my eye when Marvel left.

"What-my nachos!"

We all began walking in a group through the cave. Wally had to be pulled away as to not whine about the food anymore. I was near the front of the group with Kaldur, simply following . I was almost positive though that we were going to go do some searching for Red Tornado. We all walked in silence until I heard Robin talking.

"When did you-how did you?" Zatanna easily interuppted him.

"We're not really taking a tour, are we?" We all stopped and faced Zatanna.

"No. We're hunting down that robot." Connor said with determination before looking to Kaldur.

"Yes. We are."

"Oh wow. Out loud and everything."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. We're just so used to talking like that when we don't want the members of the League to hear." I apologized at Zatanna's comment.

"So what about new girl?" Artemis asked since we were now about to head out on a mission of our own.

"I'm sure she won't tell." Robin said with chuckle and shrug. Zatanna turned to the two with a smile before speaking.

"I can't tell. Not if you kidnap me."

"Oh, she's going to fit in great." Artemis said while placing her hands on her hips.

"Couldn't agree more." I said with a smile.

We made our way to the hangar in one of the longest ways possible. We had to make it at least somewhat believable that we were really giving her the tour. Once we were all on board the bioship we took off. The ship went immediately into camoflague mode. I was looking out the window and happened to glance down into the trees, spotting Captain Marvel holding a large tree branch. I felt kind of bad for us lying to him, but he wouldn't have let us do what we needed to do. After a few minutes of flying we heard a beep then Canary's voice.

"M'gann, the bioship wasn't cleared for departure."

"We're kidnapping Zatanna-to show her Happy Harbor. Be back soon!"

I covered my fave with my palm at Megan almost giving us away. Hopefully Canary buys that lie.

"Roger that. Have fun." I could hear the obvious apprehension in her voice. She didn't believe a word. The ship was silent for a bit before Robin finally questioned our destination.

"Where are we going? Batman is the world's greatest detective and he searched for Tornado and Morrow in every logical location. If we're gonna do better, we need an illogical solution. A truly dumb idea." Immediately we all turned to Wally. He was the king of dumb ideas.

"As a matter of fact...I do have an idea. Dr. Ivo is Morrow's number one competition in the evil robot business. He most likely keeps track of him."

"Actually, that's not too bad of an idea." I said with surprise. Everyone seemed to agree and Megan adjusted her course toward Belle Reve.

"Plus Warden Strange owes us a favor for helping stop a prison break."

The rest of the flight was relatively silent. A few remarks toward Zatanna and what it was like having Zatara as a father. As I had guessed, he was overprotective. When we finally landed we were all serious now. We entered the prison and were escorted straight to the warden's office. As we entered we saw Warden Strange sitting at his desk with a creepy smile on his face.

"Hello children, how may I help you?"

"We were hoping we could ask you a favor." I spoke politely even though he thoroughly creeped me out.

"Of course. What would it be?"

"We just need a few minutes alone with Professor Ivo. We would very much appreciate it."

"Well normally I wouldn't be able to agree to something like that. However, since you've been such a help here, I believe I can allow it. I'll have Ivo brought to one of the interview rooms for you."

"Thank you very much."

We all took our leave with a guard and were led to the interview room. Ivo was brought in shortly after and we were left with him. We all looked to one before Megan and Connor stepped up. Megan leaned over the table and tried to sound intimidating.

"Warden Strange owes us a favor for stopping last month's prison break. He's given us five minutes with you." Connor was quick to step in after Megan.

"Spill, Ivo. How do we find T.O. Morrow and his Reds?" Ivo stayed stone faced at their words, attempting to hold an expression of indifference.

"Now, why in the world would I know how to find Morrow?"

Wally then stepped up to preach his idea.

"Because-and here's a truly dumb idea-you're Morrow's biggest competitor in the evil android game. Who better to keep track of what he's up to, and where?"

I was standing off to the side and watching Ivo carefully. I wanted to make sure that I could keep my eyes on him at all times. Getting kidnapped by him once was not fun. He was dangerous, even here. Ivo smiled and laced his fingers on the desk.

"Ah. I see your point. So let me rephrase-why in the world would I tell you how to find Morrow?"

"He knows. Do what you must." Kaldur said while walking up from behind. Megan closed her eyes and when she reopened them they were glowing green. Reading his mind would be the easiest way to get our information. To my surprise, Ivo chuckled and leaned back in his chair.

"Oh, please. As if I've never faced a telepath before." He was looking pretty cocky until I finally took notice that Zatanna had moved next to him. She leaned forward and started speaking in a strange way. Ivo suddenly faced us and with a rushed voice, began to speak.

"Morrow's in a secret underground base beneath Yellowstone National Park, one hundred meters south of Old Faithful."

All of us looked in shock at Zatanna and Ivo.

'Well, like father like daughter.'

I thought while a grin crossed my face. Zatanna stepped back right as Ivo covered his mouth.

"Wait. What just happened?"

"Thank you so much Ivo. You were a great help." I said while beginning to leave the room. Zatanna was next then finally the others quit being surprised and followed. We didn't need to check out with the warden so we were escorted directly outside. Once we were aboard and in the air the silence was almost deafening. It was obvious that everyone had questions, but Kaldur was concerned about other things.

"Black out all external communication. Soon Canary and Zatara-Batman, too, I imagine-will know of our visit with Professor Ivo. We haven't much time."

Right after Kaldur finished I heard Robin speak to Zatanna.

'Oh here we go.' I thought.

"Look. I'm trying to be all nonchalant here."

"Why? Be as chalant as you like."

'Oh she is perfect for him.' I thought and had to suppress a smile. Artemis was quick to continue where Robin was headed.

"I think we're all just trying to get a handle on your powers. Could you teleport us to Tornado, or Morrow to a cell, or force his bots to surrender?"

"Or create peace on earth for all time? Zatara couldn't even do all that, and I'm no where near on my dad's level. I need to know a spell cold, or else have time to prep it. Plus, all magic requires energy, which usually has to come from within. I just can't make the impossible happen at will." I was about to say something when Connor had an outburst riddled with anger.

"What's our E.T.A. to Yellowstone? I'm way past ready to stuff Tornado into a trash compactor."

I sat silently pondering things myself before Kaldur became the voice of reason.

"Are you so certain he betrayed us?"

"Aren't you?" Connor turned to face Kaldur, anger still dripping in his voice.

"I am not convinced. And even so, that makes him but the victim of his creators programming. Certainly he deserves a chance to prove he's more than the weapon others designed him to be."

Kaldur's words seemed to hit a chord with Connor who calmed down and turned forward again. I know very little about Connor's past, but what I did know was that he was created to be a weapon. He was given the chance to prove who he was. And the way he was acting wasn't showing that he understood. The remainder of our flight was spent in quiet. I was getting a little antsy myself just thinking about taking care of the problem that's been stewing in the team for a while now. We soon were flying over Yellowstone. I could see Old Faithful spewing water in the distance. We finally landed and Kaldur ordered us into stealth mode. I tapped the emblem on my cloak and was enveloped in my dark colors. Everyone had changed and we were about to head out. Zatanna was standing by the exit, looking out.

"I recommend you stay behind." Kaldur suggested calmly, clearly not wanting to put Zatanna in harm's way.

"Is that an order?"

"No. You must do as you see fit."

"Good." Zatanna then began to speak in that weird language again. She moved her arms fluidly and was surrounded in a swirl of light and smoke. When it cleared she was in a magician's costume. It looked perfect on her. We all broke into a run once we were off the bioship. The Robin, Kaldur and Superboy led the group. I hung toward the back, scanning the area for any possible threats from behind. We came to a pause just within the treeline near a clearing. Robin began working on his computer to pinpoint what we were looking for.

"Ivo was right. Something's down there." Once it was determined we were in the right spot we began to move once again. As we came out into the open wind suddenly began to buffet us and I covered my eyes to protect them from dust. One by one everyone was now being thrown back. I had the misfortune of Megan crashing into me.

"Sorry." She said while climbing off me. I honestly didn't care though, because the source of weeks of wondering was hovering in front of us. Red Tornado was generating the wind that had knocked us back and now he was releasing tornados at us.

For some strange reason though, they weren't coming closer. They were moving in odd ways, and something was obviously off. Megan was the first to regain her voice.

"Why, Tornado? Why are you doing this?"

It was then that I finally noticed why the tornados were so strange. He had written something into the dirt. I read it right as Megan spoke into the mind link.

'Message received?' It was clear that everyone understood, but we did have to play into this game.

"Who cares why? Nail him." Connor yelled before running ahead followed by Kaldur.

"Superboy! Maneuver seven!"

Connor easily slid into position and launched Kaldur into the air. Kaldur soared through the air, his fist pulled back to punch Tornado, but Tornado punched him first. Kaldur flew back and crashed into Connor. Their part was done. Artemis was next to step up with me and Robin next to her. As Artemis let her arrows fly, my ice shards followed shortly after. Tornado simply strengthened his wind and both the arrows and ice were reversed and sent flying toward us.

"Look out!" Robin yelled.

We dodged the ice easily enough, but Artemis' arrows exploded and sent us flying backwards. I landed rather hard over by Kaldur and Connor. I laid still on the ground, following the instructions while listening to what was going on. It was almost impossible to hear though because of the wind. When we were all sprawled out on the ground the winds slowly disappeared. Silence was prevalent for a moment as Red Tornado simply hovered there above us. I suddenly felt the earth shaking slightly and heard a new voice.

"Quite a performance, brother, but we both know that's all it was. I have all your memories, Tornado, plus a next-gen processor. I know your next move before you do. The ground then shook even more violently and I heard rock crumbling. We all knew that the plan was discovered. We slowly got up and I stared wide eyed at the other android. He was holding up the piece of ground that Tornado had left the message 'Play Dead' etched into. The new Android scoffed at Tornado.

"Blowing a message into the sand?" The rock then broke apart and debris started falling toward us. We all got into ready positions while Kaldur and Connor jumped to meet the rocks head on. Megan was able to redirect a larger rock, but the rest of us still had to dodge the others. Robin and Zatanna dove out of the way at the same time as me.

'Zatanna? Eira?'

'Good.' I said before standing back up and getting my powers ready.

'I'm good. The Red Tornados getting away.'

I looked up and surely enough, Red Tornado was beginning to fly away. Was this part of a plan he came up with? I hoped so.

' Is he abandoning us?' Artemis accused while making a run forward to attack the other android.

'I don't believe that.' Megan said while flying toward our target as well. Wally had also begun his approach.

"You stand no chance against me, humans." Wally was easily punched away as Connor too his jumped and soared next to Megan.

"We're not human!" They said together while getting closer and closer.

"Apologies. I suppose the properly inclusive term is meatbags."

Two huge hands made of rocks slammed together on Megan and Connor. I began to make my approach, only a few steps behind Kalde and Artemis. The ground suddenly began to crack under Artemis and Kaldur before it completely fell away. They fell down and out of my sight. I almost panicked, but I watched them swing up and out. I was growing increasingly frustrated now. He seemed to be out matching us in every attempt. Robin had even tried with no success. I could feel a panic setting in as I stared up at our opponent. He was imposing to say the least and he was knocking out our heavy hitters like they were nothing. I raised my hands and my breath began to become labored. A cyclone of snow gradually surrounded the android and ice shards materialized, beginning to leave nicks and scratches across his body. I heard a frustrated growl right before the ground suddenly rose under me and I was launched into the air. The blizzard surrounding him disappeared when I thunder to the ground.

"Tornados memory files and my superior processing speed allow me to anticipate your every move."

I sat back up with a surge of pain running through my back. I looked and saw Zatanna raising a hand and speaking that language again. A strange black sash wrapped around the androids eyes and he attempted to pry it off.

"Tornado never knew my moves." She said right as Robin ran up next to her.

"And I bet you got some good ones. Woah. Sorry. That may have come off a little too Wally."

"I don't mind." Zatanna said with a chuckle.

"Cool it with the flirting." I said while standing up and noticing a red light coming from behind the sash. The light beamed out of his eyes and an explosion rocked the earth. Lava spewed from the ground and then heat hit me hard. The earth was shaking violently and I knew this wasn't about to end well. Everyone began navigating the lava field the best that they could while having lava covered rocks thrown at them.

'He's activating a stage two eruption. It gets to stage three, kiss the hemisphere good-bye.' Wally explained.

'Hit him from all sides.' Kaldur said and everyone began their attack. I ran forward and called out to Artemis.

"Artemis! Maneuver seven!"

She turned and readied her hands, launching me into the air a little way behind Connor. An ice blade encased my arm as I neared the android. He threw a rock at Connor, but Connor broke it and his fist made contact with the android's hand. He was quickly tossed out of the way right when I came close. I thrust the ice blade forward, but he moved slightly so that I only grazed his shoulder. He swung his arm back and sent me flying toward the lava below. I closed my eyes but felt myself floating after a moment. When I opened them, Megan was lowering me to the ground.

'Thanks Megan.'

'No problem.'

Megan was in camoflague mode and snuck up behind, and telepathucally pulled the android only to have him turn and cause a huge explosion right behind Megan. She obviously got a blast of the heat because she let our a pained scream.

"M'gann!" Connor yelled while trying to run over to her, but the android jumped in between them and sent Connor flying back. He picked up Megan by her cape and her body was just hanging. The heat was besting her and I couldn't just sit by and do nothing. I charged at him with the ice blade ready once again. I could see him prepare his arm to swing, but I moved ever so slightly. I swung the blade and scratched his arm that held Megan before he kicked me across the lava fields. The kick knocked the wind out of me and I was seeing stars. My vision darkened at the corners, but I fought it off. When I hit the ground again I slid quite a distance, feeling every little rocks I plowed through. I laid there for a moment, my ears ringing as I looked at the battle. Zatanna did something to make Wally multiply. It was rather impressive. One by one the illusions were being destroyed in puffs of smoke while Wally swung around and grabbed Megan. Once she was safe a huge wave of water rose up next to Kaldur and slammed into the android. I was trying to find my strength to get up and I managed to muster a little. I rose to my feet shakily to see the water shoving the android into the lava.

"Nice hit!" Robin said while looking to Kaldur.

"The hit was not mine. Look!" Kaldur pointed and one of the androids from the cave was helping. He launched more water every time the other would come out of the lava. Eventually he was forcing himself out of the lava with rock, only to have Tornado fly in and destroy his pillar. Into the lava he went once more, resurfacing again only to have fire thrown at him. This time the female android was helping. She locked hands with him and held his focus while smoke billowed into the air.

"Sister! Brothers! Stop!" He was then forced under the lava and Tornado came diving out of the sky. I saw his legs enter the lava and knew that the fight was over. Before Red Tornado could fully sink into the lava, Connor ran and pulled him out. His legs had melted away, but he was alive and that's all that mattered. The earth was still shaking and rising in strange ways.

"Tornado, listen! We're on the verge of a stage three supervolcano eruption. There's no turning back from that. We need to bent pressure, fast. But the ash cloud will bring on worldwide nuclear winter unless you divert it." Wally explained to Tornado before switching to Robin and Artemis.

"Triangulate around the pressure locus."

"Right. There, there, and there." Robin instructed while Artemis released her arrows to the places specified. The following explosion let ash and smoke into the atmosphere and Red Tornado shakily began to hover into the air. He flew as high as the ash cloud and I witnessed the cloud being sucked through a tornado. I sighed in relief, but flinched at a stinging pain from my back. Of course I was going to bruise bad. When the smoke was gone I could see the lava rapidly cooling and turning dark. The ash cloud was gone and we were finally in the clear. Red Tornado landed with a loud thunk a few feet away and we all ran over. Connor and Kaldur managed to carry Res Tornado and we made our way down to the lab. Once we were inside, Tornado was placed on a table and Robin began working to fix him so he could at least speak to us.

"There. That should do it." Robin said while stepping back a little.

"Yes. I can speak again." Red Tornado said while his face plate closed.

"You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the planet." Kaldur said while approaching the table.

"The planet would have survived. It was humanity that was saved-though not by me. My sister and brother were the true herpes this day."

"My point is this-you were never the mole, never a traitor."

"No. I left to protect you from further attack and to find my creator, Morrow."

Both Wally and Robin were rummaging around through the crates and they seemed to be finding android body parts.

"Cool. Souvenir." Wally called while waving an android hand in the air. Robin seemed to be holding a leg and turned to walk back to the table.

"Reddy, we can rebuild you better than you were before."

I saw Tornado move his head as if in contemplation.

"I do not believe I should be repaired." No one said anything to his comment, but Connor seemed to have something he had been thinking about since we came down here. He quickly turned and finally asked.

"Why'd you volunteer to become our den mother in the first place?"

"I was the pragmatic choice. I do not require sleep. I have no secret identity or second life to live." Wally was quick to begin placing the pieces together.

"But you do have advance A.I. programming designed to learn, adapt, evolve."

"Hello Megan. You wanted to become more human." Megan tapped her forehead in that special way of hers that made me smile.

"And you couldn't do that with the League. They're stiffs." Artemis added in.

"You're sure not going to learn emotion from Batman. Trust me."

"You know it." I added with a smile at Robin and a giggle. Kaldur then continued.

"Then the cave was not a proving ground only for us, but for you as well."

"I do not know if these statements are accurate, but perhaps they are true. And if I understand the term correctly, I believe I have come to...care about you all."

"We care about you too Tornado." I said with my same smile. Connor remained stone faced however as he spoke.

"See? Practically a meatbag already."

"Which reminds me. I still desire to see Morrow. He is here."

We nodded and Robin began work with Wally to repair Tornado's legs. Once he was all set he headed through a door and down a corridor while we headed above ground to the bioship. Once on board I sunk into my seat and let my body finally relax. I felt all the bruises and twinges of pain. I don't think anything was broken though thankfully. The ship was silent as we became airborne and headed home.

"So, good kidnapping?" Robin asked while placing a hand on Zatanna's shoulder to get her attention.

"Actually, yeah. Best ever."

"Heh. First of many, I hope."

"If my dad doesn't ground me for life."

"I hope he doesn't. It's pretty fun having you on the team." I said glancing at her over my shoulder. "Besides, Robin could use a girlfriend who understands what we do."

"Eira!" Robin said while a blush turned his face bright red. I started giggling as everyone else shared a laugh at Robin's expense. The rest of the flight home consisted of jokes and small talk with the occasional noise from Wally eating. When we landed everyone cleared out and I could see Zatanna dragging her feet. We could hear Zatara getting mad and yelling.

"Sounds like you might just be grounded for life after all." I said flinching at his voice. "I wish you the best of luck." I saluted her before spinning off down a hallway to make an escape, only to see Canary standing there with Zatara only a few steps behind.

"Uh oh." I said while falling back into rank. We got a really bad scolding from Canary and I'm sure that Zatana got one when she got home. The only saving grace we received was when Tornado showed up. We explained everything to Canary and her anger seemed to fade away with every word. Finally when we were done she let us go, but I knew we would end up hearing something from Batman. The others quickly left to go home with Kaldur staying behind to go over specific details with Batman once he arrived. I had gone to get my bruises looked at by Canary, but she cleared me in less than ten minutes. When I came back out Batman had left as did everyone else except Kaldur. I think Megan and Connor had gone to bed.

"It would appear that you are not in much trouble. Batman said we did well." He spoke simply to me as Canary left through the zeta.

"Well that's a relief. Last thing I want is a punishment from him. He might have me train with him and I can only cringe at the thought of that." Kaldur chuckled before noticing a few small bandages on my arms and hands.

"Were you injured badly in our fight?"

"No. Just some minor scratches and bruises. Nothing I can't survive." I responded with dismissive wave of my hand.

"I am relieved. I do not wish for anyone on the team to be seriously hurt." I smiled at Kaldur's worry. It was sweet that he cared so much for all of us.

"Is Megan okay from that heat blast she took?"

"Yes. She is fine. As is everyone else. We are very lucky."

"Yeah. We are. Not just for making it out safely but for having a leader like you. Someone who cares for everyone so much. I don't know what we'd do without you." I gently placed a hand on his forearm and squeezed lightly, a small smile on my face. I let his arm go almost immediately before turning toward the hallway.

"I should probably get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning Kaldur."

"Good night." He responded as I walked away. I didn't stop to turn, but if I had I would have seen the light blush on her face and he was gently rubbing his forearm where I touched it.


	16. Chapter 16: The Exercise

**_Alright everyone! This is the chapter I've been waiting for since I started writing. Yes it's a pretty depressing chapter at times, but it's also a very emotional one. It has gone through quite a few rewrites since I first came up with the idea, but here it is. Hope everyone enjoys._**

 **Chapter 16: The Exercise**

We were all gathered in front of the giant computer. Before us was a scene almost unbelievable. A large ship had entered Earth's orbit and part of the League had gone out to meet it. Two green lanterns and Batman in his ship. I heard them telling the ship to disengage weapons, but in just a second all he'll broke loose. The two green lanterns were disintegrated and Batman called a code red. I watched as other league members, including Superman and Martian Manhunter, were deployed from Batman's ship. They all flew toward the ship, but met the same fate as the lanterns. I watched Batman's ship get destroyed while he jettisoned out, but smaller ships were deploying from the large ship and one of them disintegrated Batman. The feed was then cut while another screen popped up with Zatara on it.

"Tornado, did you-"

"Yes, Zatara, we saw. Celestial defenses have failed. Initiate all terrestrial measures."

"Affirmative. See you in the field."

Zatara's transmission ended and Red Tornado turned to us.

"I must join the League. We will protect the planet at all costs. But should we fail, the responsibility falls to you."

Kaldur glanced at us all before looking back to Tornado.

"We stand ready."

We remained there as Red Tornado left. We were all completely quiet. Inwardly I felt like we should be talking, but my mind kept telling me there was no need to. That everything was exactly how it was supposed to be. I had this nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that something wasn't quite right. Something just wasn't clicking for me. Running through what we saw, I couldn't fight the feeling that I was missing something. Not something like a clue or information. More like a feeling. I felt like I should be feeling something right now. Reacting differently. But there was this sense of calm in my head that kept me from questioning further. We switched to a different transmission and we ended up getting the news.

"This is Iris West-Allen reporting live. The extraterrestrials have brought their relentless global attack to Central City."

There was an explosion behind her and people being vaporized. A ship started coming into view when the Flash swooped up Iris and saved her at the last second. I could see another ship coming into the screen when I heard Zatara chanting one of his spells. Gold light completely filled the screen and when it disappeared Zatara was in front of the camera on what appeared to be a rooftop. The Flash dropped Iris off not even two seconds later.

"You should both be safe here. At least for now."

"Thank you...Flash. And Zatara." I saw Flash gently touch Iris' shoulder before running off, followed by Zatara casting a spell and flying off. She turned back to face the camera, now with bit of a smile on her face.

"Denny, you okay?" A hand with a thumbs up came into the screen.

"As you can see, the Justice League is attempting to hold the line."

Zatara and Flash were going to a nearby building to rescue more people when they too were disintegrated. The camera panned back to Iris who had one of the most devistated looks on her fave that I've ever seen. The screen then changed to the main news office where the news anchor had been watching as well. We could see in the smaller window that ships were now coming for Iris and her cameraman Denny.

"Iris! Iris, get out of there." When the signal was cut we all knew what had happened. The anchor looked saddened as she tried to continue on with the report.

"I'm sorry, we're experiencing technical difficulties from our Central City feed. We take you now to a devastated Taipei, where another League contingent is having a bit more luck."

The image spanned out in front of us was truly a disaster. The Hawks were trying their best, but just like all the others, were vaporized. Down on the rooftops both Green Arrow and Black Canary were giving it their all. They even managed to destroy a few ships, only to face the same fate as the others. The screen cut back once again to the news room.

"Ladies and gentleman, we've lost Black Canary, Green Arrow, and the Hawks. Other heroes reported dead or missing include Batman, Icon, Adam, and Aquaman."

The next scene we saw was from Red Tornado. Wonder Woman seemed to be kicking some serious butt.

"Wonder Woman, above you." We could hear Red Tornado call out to her causing her to turn and brace herself. She seemed to fight the beam for a few seconds longer than the others before she too fell. Red Tornado flew away as the large ship that started everything landed where he had been.

"Red Tornado to cave. I fear I am all that remains of the League."

Ships whizzed by him as he attacked, and then he was gone too. All four screens in front of us showed the complete devastation that these aliens brought. When this seemed to settle in, Kaldur spoke.

"We are Earth's heroes now."

We all turned to him, I imagine everyone was in agreement. Connor was next to speak, seeming all too eager to get out there.

"So what are we waiting for, a theme song?"

"A strategy. Earth's weapons are ineffective. And it has been made tragically clear a direct attack will not succeed."

Robin then pulled up his computer on his wrist and began tapping away.

"Checking satellite imagery. Here's where the aliens are now."

A huge globe covered in red dots sprung up in front of us. This was going to be one hellof a fight if there were really that many of them.

"This one get lost?" Connor questioned while pointing at a single dot in the middle of the ocean.

"That's Superman's fortress of solitude."

"Superman has a fortress of solitude?"

"It's power source must have attracted the aliens attention, at least enough to send a scout ship to investigate."

"Must be some fortress." Connor muttered while turning and trying to walk off. Megan lightly touched his shoulder and said his name quietly. I'm sure it was try and make him feel better.

"No, it's okay. I guess there's a lot about Superman I'll never know. Uh, you know, now." Kaldur was quick to put us back on track for the mission.

"We will target this lone ship."

"Yeah, break it down, build more, but those ugly aliens with their own mojo." Wally had started ranting but was quickly elbowed by Artemis.

"Martian and Kryptonian in the house." Wally let out a nervous chuckle before trying to cover for himself.

"Not that all aliens are automatically ugly."

I shook my head before we all departed for the bioship. It was going to be a decently long flight and I wanted to get started as soon as possible. Once we were in the air everyone was silent. A lit more silent than normal in my mind. The silence was actually somewhat unnerving until we got close to landing sight.

"Activate polar stealth." Everyone got ready and when I tapped my emblem I was surprised at my color change. My suit was relatively polar stealth as it was. Now it was just pure white with gray trim. It's a good thing the cold didn't bother me though, because I could tell the others would need heavier coats for where we were going. Once we landed a fair distance from the ship we all carefully went to our positions. I stayed a little further back than the others, keeping an eye out for other ships. The one we were targeting was stationary while facing the fortress. Megan flew up in camoflague mode and quickly disabled the communications and propulsion for the ship.

'Communications disabled. Propulsion disabled.'

Artemis stepped out of her cover for a brief moment and fired, sealing the ship so nothing could get out. The ship then began firing at the snow bank Artemis was behind and it made me hold my breath.

'And ETs are sealed inside.'

I let out the breath in relief once I heard Artemis in my head. Next, Kaldur burst out of the ice below the ship causing it to sink in slightly. Kaldur had landed on the ship, but the canon rounded on him and I held my breath once again. Thankfully wolf attacked the canon and spun it before it could hit Kaldur. Superboy was up at the base of the cannon now and I made my move in with the others.

Once I was standing in the ship I placed a hand lightly on the base of the cannon and ice seeped into the cracks. I began to once by one freeze circuits to decrease the chances of us getting hurt.

'Identifying weapon's structural stress points and links to the ship. Here, here, and here.' Robin gestured and Megan used her powers to weaken the stress points. Connor then began pulling with help from Megan's powers. I noticed what sounded like a charging sound and glanced toward Connor. I saw two paddles lighting up, but before I could do anything Wolf pushed Connor out of the way and he was gone.

'Wolf.' I heard Megan say with sadness. Robin began typing on his screen again.

'There was no indication of feedback. I'm sorry.'

'There must be completely separate circuits for that laser. I should have been more careful with freezing them.' I added in apology to Connor.

'Can't do anything for him now. Let's go.'

Connor resumed his position and began pulling once again. Finally the canon was yanked free and we could continue with our plan. Connor and I jumped onto the camoflagued bioship when it was near us as Megan flew over. I began to slowly recall the ice away from the circuits being careful not to do it too fast. If they thawed too quickly they would be completely useless. Megan placed her hands on the bioship and I saw it begin to conform for the cannon.

'Rerouting systems to integrate weapon into ships biomatrix. We'll need to decamoflague for a few minutes.' Megan said right as I heard the quiet hum of more ships arriving.

'We may not have a few minutes.' Robin said just as the ships started doubling back.

'Miss Martian, open fire.' Kaldur ordered, but it wasn't so simple.

'Can't. Weapon systems are offline to incorporate the new cannon. And that's not fully integrated yet, either.'

I continued to focus on the ice trying to hurry as much as I could without frying the circuitry.

'I'll be able to help as soon as I deice these circuits. Thirty seconds tops.'

'Got you covered. Get inside. I'm almost there.' Artemis called out while firing at the incoming ships. She hit her targets and completely obliterated one of the ships, but only grazed the other. The one that survived crashed, but took aim at Artemis. Both Megan and I looked toward Artemis as she got closer to the ship and Megan even called out a warning.

'Artemis, behind you.'

Artemis turned to fire another arrow only to be shot by the the laser.

'Artemis!'

When Megan screamed, something suddenly clicked in my head. That strange feeling I was having before seemed to finally make sense. My eyes doubled in size at what I saw before me. Grief and sadness punched me in the gut like I had never felt before. I heard Wally yell out her name too, but all I could do was sit there in shock. My voice was stuck in my throat, choking me silently.

"No.." I management to choke out before sliding off the ship with the others. Kaldur was the first to begin reacting. He had begun to charge the ship with his water bearers drawn.

"Get inside. All of you." He commanded as I stared in disbelief before me. Tears slowly began to trickle down my face as anger began to twinge inside me. As Kaldur ran forward I found myself sprinting up behind him. He sent a huge wave of water at the ship, cracking the ice along the way. The ship was lifted into the air as the water beneath it pulled away and changed into large icicles. Kaldur's icicles pieced the ship as I pulled the largest spears I could from the ice around me. I had to have thrust at least five huge spears into the thing when it exploded. My anger was boiling at the surface, and even this act was swaying it.

"They're dead. Every single alien, if it's the last thing I do."

I could hear Wally vowing to kill all the aliens, but I could be drawn from my anger. As I stood there clenching my fists, the ice beneath my feet was slowly spiking in a circle around me. I was lost in the sea of anger and it wasn't ebbing. I don't know how, but I felt a hand gently clasp my shoulder. The action caused me to relax and refocus.

I turned and met Kaldur's eyes and my sadness and grief returned ten times worse. The tears flowed as I was led back to the ship and we all boarded. I sat in my seat and continued to cry. The one person who truly knew what I was going through with my family. The one person who truly understood. She was gone. Someone so close that she was practically a sister. And she was just zapped out of existence. As we took off I could hear Megan crying as well and that silence returned, but it was much heavier this time. I felt a hand once again on my shoulder and Robin was next to me. He had a sad look on his face and I knew he was hurting just like everyone else. I lightly grasped his hand and tried my best to calm down. I could hear Wally punching the bioship console and yelling only a few seats away from me.

"There will be time to mourn later. Now we have a job to do-defend the Earth, and ensure Artemis' sacrifice was not in vain." I glanced to Kaldur and gave a nod, feeling my tears begin to slow as well as my choked sobs. I could no longer hear Megan crying either.

"Back to the cave." Megan questioned.

"The Hall of Justice. The human race must know that there are still heroes defending them. There is still hope."

We arrived at the Hall not much later and were greeted by the war zone it had become. I could see soldiers standing guard in front of the Hall firing at incoming ships. We then flew up behind the ships in camoflague mode, dropping Connor onto one of the ships then disintegrating the other two. When we landed and exited the ship we were greeted by cheering soldiers.

"See? It is Superman. Told you he wouldn't leave us out here alone." I could hear two soldiers talking to one another a few feet ahead of us.

"I don't know. He looks kind of young. Where's the cape?"

Connor turned to face the soldiers and responded in a bit of a frustrated tone.

"I'm not Superman."

A man that I could only guess was the general of this group stepped forward.

"I don't know who you are, son, and right now, I don't care. You wear the "S" and you got the job sone."

"I'm not Superman." Connor repeated, this time sounded more saddened than anything else.

"Tell that to the enemy. General Wade Eiling, U.S. Air Force." The general saluted Kaldur as he stepped forward.

"Aqualad, Justice League. We'll help you salvage as many of the alien's cannons as possible, then we start taking back what is ours."

We all headed into the Hall and before us were the destroyed statues of the founding members of the League.

"They're really gone." Robin said quietly while looking to the rubble. Megan floated over to the Martian Manhunter statue and fell to her knees, sobbing. I looked around at the statues and spotted Batman. I could only imagine how Megan felt losing her uncle. But I could only imagine it feeling somewhat how I felt. Batman was one of the first couple to go, and I felt nothing then. The tears pricked at my eyes again as I gripped Robin's arm. He placed a hand gently over mine and I could feel his sadness as well. I heard Megan stop sobbing so I glanced over toward her, only to see her back away from the statue and use her powers to lift it. Underneath the rubble was Martian Manhunter, but that was impossible. We saw him get disintegrated.

"Uncle J'onn!" Megan was quick to toss the statue away and fly down to him, only to have Kaldur stop her.

'M'gann, check his mind. Make sure he is whom he appears to be.'

'It's him. He's real. He's alive.'

"But we saw you get disintegrated. You and Superman. And everyone." Connor said while apparently voices all of our disbeilef.

"Yes, I remember. But I cannot remember how I survived. Or how I arrived here." Martian Manhunter seemed to be in a daze. He didn't seem fully like himself and that gave me an odd feeling in my stomach.

"Maybe you were density shifting, the beam passed right through you."

"Scrambling your brains along the way." Robin added in with excitement.

"My mind is clouded. I feel certain I had something important to tell you." I still felt unsure about everything.

We saw Manhunter disintegrate right before our eyes. There was no way that he didn't disappear.

'Hello, Wally, come on.' I heard Wally in the mind link and both him and Robin headed outside in a bit of a hurry.

'I knew it. It's giving off zeta beams, the same stuff that powers our zeta tubes. This thing doesn't disintegrate, it teleports. Artemis is alive.'

'Maybe, but-'

'No maybes. They're all alive.'

"That must have been what you wanted to tell us."

That feeling in my stomach refused to let up. I couldn't believe what Wally was coming up with. Something told me that his wishful thinking was just that. Wishful thinking. We then heard the whir of the of more ships flying in, and this time it sounded like a lot. Everyone inside was about to make a break to help.

'We're on our way.'

'Negative. We can't win this. Miss Martian, camo the bioship.'

Just then both Megan and Manhunter were tossed back and yelled in pain. I could only imagine that it had something to do with the bioship. It was probably gone.

"M'gann." Connor called before running over to her. Kaldur ran to Manhunter and helped him up while I prepared myself for another fight. If they breached the inside I would be ready.

"That didn't feel like-" I heard Megan mumbled to Connor before Robin broke through the mind link.

'We're falling back.'

Everyone began to run inside to presumed safety only to have the general state that we were trapped. Kaldur opened a door and seemed to have an idea.

"Maybe not."

We all retreated into the inner library, with a hope of making it out alive.

"We can all zeta to the cave if you can grant us computer clearance to access the tubes." When we came to a stop in front of the tube entrance manhunter informed us of a limitation to our plan.

"I can only authorize one at a time."

"Send the soldiers first." Kaldur ordered only to have the general deny that.

"Belay that! You seven are assets we cannot afford to lose."

We all turned to face Kaldur once more before he gave a nod for Manhunter to begin the authorization. Manhunter stepped forward to where the system could scan him.

"Override. Martian Manhunter 07." The system recognized him and opened the zeta tube for access. Megan was first to step through followed quickly by Robin and Wally. Right before Wally could head through though, there was a large explosion near the entrance. Wally was shoved into the zeta tube just as Connor and I ran toward the rubble. I fired ice spears at the alien ships I could see to cover Connor while he pulled a soldier out from under some rubble. I couldn't hear much over the shots being fired, but I knew that we were running out of time. I fell back to the zeta tube just as Connor went through.

"We can't hold them off." I said throwing another spear.

"I know. You go next."

I turned to Kaldur and felt a pain in my chest. I knew deep down that this wouldn't end well.

"I won't leave you here to die!" I said spinning around to fully face him. He grabbed my wrist lightly and I met his gaze. It was a sad one, but it was very much like the gaze I saw that one night.

"You need to keep going Eira. You are far too important."

Before I could even question I felt my body shift and I was tossed through the zeta tube. Before I completely disappeared I saw Kaldur pushing Manhunter through and then disintegrating right where I had been.

"KALDUR!" I yelled only to be spat out on the floor of the cave. I sat up and curled myself into a ball. My body was shaking and I couldn't calm down. My heart felt like it was breaking in two.

"Where's Kaldur?" Wally asked Manhunter once he took a seat. There was no answer, but everyone already knew. The ground around me was icing over as I cried quietly. I had lost two people I cared so much for in just a few hours. I had taken all I could handle. Everyone seemed to read my body language and left me alone, beginning to plan out the next step of our mission.

"Our next mission is clear. If we believe the aliens have been teleporting their victims-"

"We do."

"Then the only reasonable detention facility is here. Their mothership, atop what used to be Smallville. Ring any bells?"

As I heard the mission being discussed I focused and got my powers back under control. As I shakily stood, my face was now blank. I felt like all the life had been sucked out of me. Every emotion was gone. I felt almost empty. So much death, there was no way I could cope with it all. As I made it back over to the others I didn't look at anyone. I just stood there almost like a zombie.

"No. I'm sorry."

"Superboy, Eira, you two will create a distraction." Immediately Megan shot the idea down.

"No! He's offering both of you as a sacrifice. Aqualad would never do that."

I recoiled slightly at the mention of Kaldur.

"You're right. Aqualad would sacrifice himself, a mistake that just cost us our leader. Superboy and Eira are the most likely to be perceived as a threat, motivating the aliens to deploy."

"Worst case, they're teleported inside and we set them free along with Artemis. And Aqualad and everyone.

"I'll do what I can to help." I said in saddened voice. "It's what heroes do." Once we were all in agreement everyone walked off to go make some sort of video for survivors around the planet. I stayed out of it for the simple fact that I wasn't the very picture of motivation right now. Gradually the cave began to fill with more and more people coming to fight with us. This was going to be the beginning of the end and everyone was going to do what they could to help. Once we were all prepared we made our trip to Smallville. We were all gathered on a rocky hill near the mothership. I could faintly hear Robin mumbling something to Megan, but I couldn't make it out.

"First team, deploy."

Megan and Manhunter both took off into the sky leaving the rest of us down on the ground.

'Ready. In position.' I heard Megan through the mind link and Connor and I both stepped forward. Connor kneeled down in front of me and I climbed on his back.

"Ready?" He asked while turning to face me for a moment. I nodded and we both looked to Robin. He gave a nod and a look to me right before we jumped off. As Connor and I soared through the air I watched the ship come closer and closer. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the fight of my life. We landed with a loud thunk and smoke billowing everywhere. Connor immediately went to a nearby cannon while I began shooting icicles into the hull of the space ship just trying to garner some attention.

'Careful, don't disconnect the power source.'

"All right you glorified trespassers. You want to see how a real alien fights?" Connor yelled right before the laser shot off two cannons. I moved on to the other cannons dotting the outside near us. I could hear the sound of ships deploying and coming to fight us off.

'Now or never.' Connor called into the mind link while the fight continued on. Connor had my back and I had his. The ships didn't seem to come to an end as we continued to obliterate them. Seeing we were becoming quickly outnumbered I broke away slightly from my position near Connor. I drew as much of the enemy as I could.

"What're you doing?" Connor yelled out to me when I stopped. I turned to him and gave him a sad smile.

"I know I won't make it out of this. But at least I can take some of them down with me."

"Wait, Eira!" Connor called but it was too late. My hands were glowing blue and a blizzard began to swirl around me. I was pulled up into the air as ships grew closer and closer. Some were speared from the vortex and others managed to stay back. The wind became stronger as did the light surrounding me. Suddenly everything began to pull in toward me and I could feel ice slowly covering my body. I was letting my powers completely go, even if it killed me. When I was completely covered I heaved one last breath and the energy exploded around me. All the ships near me were frozen solid and fell to the ground, shattering into pieces. Even though I was frozen I could still see around me. I could see Connor's wide eyes at what I had done. Inwardly though I was smiling. I gave my everything to protect the people left that I cared about. I just hoped it was enough. As the wind died down my crystallized body plummeted toward the ground.

'Please stay safe everyone.' I said into the mind link before my body hit the ground and shattered. When my eyes opened I was surrounded by darkness. I felt like I was floating in it, like I was in a pool of dark water. I felt completely at ease until I remembered what happened.

"So this is what it's like to be dead? Not what I pictured."

I tried to move, but found my body extremely heavy. It was as if there was a weight pushing me down.

"So I guess I just float here then?"

My voice had begun to echo in the darkness as I felt myself slipping deeper and deeper.

"I wonder if everyone made it out okay." I felt sadness envelope me while thinking of my team. My friends. My family. That is what they were to me. My family. Losing them was a pain that I hoped I would never relive. Then I began to play through everything in my head.

"Could I have done anything different to safe any of them?"

This thought haunted me the most. I could think of tons of things I could have done differently. Things that could have saved Artemis or Kaldur, but I didn't. I think that's what ate away at me more than anything else. I didn't do everything I could have. If I had worked a little bit faster with the cannon I could have saved Artemis. If I hadn't let Kaldur grab me I could have probably dragged him through the zeta tube with me. All these things I could have done, and I didn't do them. The guilt was eating into my chest where my heart should be. When I had finally resigned to float in my own guilt and sadness something caught my attention. It was the faintest of sounds. Barely even a whisper at first. As I listened more carefully it got louder. Someone was calling my name, but in this darkness I couldn't see anyone or tell where the voice was coming from. Finally I recognized it as Batman and I suddenly snapped out of the darkness with a gasp. I sat straight up and immediately regretted my actions. My head was pounding and I was sweating like crazy. The table I was on was covered in a thick layer of ice and I could see everyone else around me seemed as disoriented as me. Batman was now over by Martian Manhunter who had a hand placed on his head.

"What happened in there?" He questioned

"The exercise, it all went wrong."

"Exercise?" Robin questioned while looking to Batman and Manhunter.

"Try to remember. What you experienced was a training exercise. Manhunter psychically linked the seven of you within an artificial reality. You all knew this going in. What you didn't know was that it was a train for failure exercise. No matter what the team accomplished, the scenario was designed to grow worse. Still, you were aware nothing was real, including the deaths of the entire Justice League."

Everything was making more sense gradually. That's why I felt so calm in the beginning. My mind knew that it wasn't real. Manhunter continued with the explanation.

"That is why you hardly grieved even when wolf was disintegrated before your eyes. But all that changed when Artemis died. Though consciously Miss Martian knew it was not real, her subconscious mind could not make that distinction. She forgot it was only an exercise and her subconscious took control, making all of you forget, too."

That explained the rest of what happened. I remember that click when my emotions came back at full force. When everything seemed to finally come together in my head. Everyone glanced to Megan, but I kept staring down at my lap.

"I...I'm so sorry." Megan said and I could hear the true pain in her voice.

"This isn't her fault. Why didn't you stop the exercise?" Connor quickly came to Megan's defense.

"We tried. But M'gann had a death grip on the scenario. Even Artemis, who should have awakened upon her death, was so convinced she had passed she slipped into a coma. I realized I would have to rest control from miss Martian's subconscious from within. But upon entering the reality, I was overwhelmed by your collective emotion. There was too much noise to think clearly, to remember why I was there. The deaths of Aqualad, Eira and Superboy helped. But only when the mothership exploded and Robin and Kid Flash were silenced did my mind clear enough to remember my true purpose-to shock M'gann out of the exercise before your comas became permanent. My apologies. I had no idea a training exercise could be so dangerous, so damaging."

I had curled myself up in a ball while hearing Megan cry. Everything that we all experienced was so real. I lost my whole family. I lost everything. I let myself lose control so that I could die on my own terms and maybe save someone. I felt the tears meet my eyes and quiet sobs fill my throat. I felt eyes on me, but not many. Robin had walked over to me and wrapped me in a hug as I clenched his shirt. I couldn't help replaying everything over and over again in my head. As Batman led Martian Manhunter out of the cave Robin helped me up and led me to my room. My sobs were quieter now and the tears were slowing. Robin hadn't said a word to me the entire time. He was just there for me. Trying to soothe me the only way he knew how. When I was finally in my room I looked around at the darkness and recalled floating in it. I quickly turned the lights on to fight away that feeling.

"Do you want me to stay here with you?" Robin asked quietly while rubbing my back gently.

"No. You go home. We all need to work through what happened."

He hesitated, but conceded and left the room. I wrapped my arms around myself and fell to the ground just trying to will the memories away. They hurt too much. Who would have thought that one day could go so horribly wrong so quickly.


	17. Notice

To those who may not have noticed, I did add a new chapter. However, I removed the old notice so it is only showing 16 chapters. I'm a bit ocd so it was bothering me to see 17 chapters when I had only written 16. I will be removing this notice in a couple days as well.


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